When the Chestermere Historical Society published Saddles Sleighs and Sadirons in 1961 no one thought to include a caption under the picture of ‘Chestermere Station.’ For those of us who followed and were part of writing for ‘Growing Through Time’ and ‘Chestermere A Home for All Seasons’ it seemed obvious that the one picture we had of the station was the Chestermere Suburban Railway station. This railway was envisioned by developer John A MacDonald ( not the Prime Minister) of Calgary. Drawings that circulated 1910 to 1912 showed a railway coming out from Calgary to service the splendid holiday and getaway destination of Chestermere Lake, with its Chestermere Aquatic Club and other features for holidayers and day trippers from Calgary. Unfortunately, the bust of 1912 hit and all that was left of Mr. MacDonald’s dream was a few telegraph poles and the drawings which included a station about the spot where Melcor located their shopping plaza–aptly named “Chestermere Station.”
In 2005 while doing research on this one photograph, researchers at the Glenbow Museum Archives suggested that the photo might be of a Canadian Northern Railway station that had existed in Chestermere 1913 to 1930 approximately ½ mile east of Rainbow Road on the CN line south of the lake. Bingo–that was it. So much for the earlier assumptions that subsequently gave Melcor an idea for their commercial development. ( read more in Chestermere a Home for All Seasons available from Chestermere Historical Foundation)
But the story is not yet over. Another ‘bingo’ moment happened when Kay Clarke, whose family (Mackenzies) have lived in the Chestermere area since 1910, brought to a Historical Foundation meeting the original photo used in the 1961 publication, plus another photo postcard of the station being constructed in 1913. These will soon be up in the Chestermere Library in the ‘historical’ hallway gallery, but for now you can enjoy them here. The two people on the platform are Kate Mackenzie and her daughter Agnes, Kay Clarke’s mother.
If you have an interest in local history, check out the webpage HYPERLINK “http://www.chestermerehistory.org” \o “http://www.chestermerehistory.org/” www.chestermerehistory.org and stop in to the next regular meeting held monthly at the Town of Chestermere Public Library.
