Wardlow, Alberta

Wardlow
Hamlet
Wardlow
Location of Wardlow
Wardlow
Wardlow (Canada)
Coordinates: 50°54′19″N 111°32′46″W / 50.90528°N 111.54611°W / 50.90528; -111.54611
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
RegionSouthern Alberta
Census division4
Special areaSpecial Area No. 2
Government
 • TypeUnincorporated
 • Governing bodySpecial Areas Board
Population
 (1991)[1]
 • Total
28
Time zoneUTC−07:00 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−06:00 (MDT)
Area codes403, 587, 825

Wardlow is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within Special Area No. 2.[2][3] It is located approximately 24 kilometres (15 mi) east of Highway 36 and 45 kilometres (28 mi) northeast of Brooks.

Toponymy

There are two competing accounts of how Wardlow received its name.[4][5] The first provides that Wardlow was named for a location in Scotland associated with Clan Cameron.[6][4]

The second suggests Wardlow was named for a daughter of rancher James R. Sutherland, after the Canadian Northern Railway established a track through his property.[7][8][9] Historian Harry Sanders notes that Sutherland was, in actuality, a Calgary-based federal employee working on an irrigation project in the area.[9][10] Among Sutherland's children was daughter Catherine Wardlow Sutherland.[10][11][12]

Topography

Wardlow lies on generally flat terrain.[13] Its soil is Solonetzic and subsequently poor for arable farming, though the area has traditionally housed grain operations.[13] Low levels of precipitation in the area further pose a challenge for pastoral farming.[13]

Flora and fauna

Wardlow is populated by Cooper's hawks, mule deer, loggerhead shrikes, curlews, and marbled godwits.[14][15]

History

Cravath Corners: 1910-1919

Before the introduction of the railway, the area that would come to be known as Wardlow contained a few farms, of which four were run by the Cravath family.[8][16] They established a post office and family cemetery by the name of Cravath Corners within a few years of their arrival in 1910.[16][17] One of the four Cravath families vacated the area in 1919, followed by two others in 1926.[16]

Wardlow and its growth: 1920-1970

In the fall of 1920,[5] the Canadian Northern Railway established a railway line through the agricultural lands, and named the railway station Wardlow.[4][7] A larger community developed around the railway station, with the expectation that the line would eventually connect the community to Medicine Hat.[7] (The line ultimately fell short of this aspiration, and instead terminated at Hanna.[18])

After the Cravath Corners post office closed permanently in August 1920,[17] a Wardlow post office was established in January 1922.[19] Wardlow was slow to develop nonetheless,[7] and, in 1926, the train tracks connecting Wardlow to Steveville were removed.[20] Services to Hanna continued.[18]

To provide for local children, a schoolhouse was moved from a nearby settlement to Wardlow in the 1930s.[6] Though the school was open by 1934, it was poorly equipped and in a state of disrepair, as teacher Phyllis Dove discovered when she accepted the post in September.[21] She wrote to the provincial government to request that the building receive three panes of glass, two door handles, and general structural repairs.[21] When the school closed in 1940, Wardlow had a permanent population of around 20 people.[6][7]

Speculation that the area contained oil and gas renewed interest in Wardlow in the early 1950s.[7] Drilling reached its peak by 1955, a year in which Wardlow's permanent population stood at around 40.[6] In September, Wardlow's name was accepted for federal mapping purposes.[4] Also in 1955, Wardlow School reopened; this time, it would remain in operation until June 1961.[6][7]

In 1967, Wardlow reportedly had 11 settled residents.[6]

Later development: 1971-present

Train services connecting Wardlow to Hanna ended in the 1970s.[22] In 1976, the provincial government awarded residents of Wardlow a grant to install a cairn bearing the names of the 34 people interred at Cravath Corners Cemetery.[16] The graves were previously unmarked, and the cemetery's original records were lost.[16]

Today, Wardlow is a hamlet and agricultural community.[23] The provincial and federal governments announced in January 2026 that residents of Wardlow will receive high-speed internet access by December 2026, via Xplore Inc.[24]

Demographics

Wardlow recorded a population of 28 in the 1991 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada.[1]

Places of interest

Wardlow is approximately 15.1 kilometres (9.4 mi) north of Dinosaur Provincial Park.[4][23]

Notable residents

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "91 Census: Unincorporated Places — Population and Dwelling Counts" (PDF). Statistics Canada. June 1993. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "Specialized and Rural Municipalities and Their Communities" (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. June 3, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  3. ^ Statistics Canada (March 5, 2010). "Standard Geographical Classification 2006 – Special Area No. 2, geographical codes and localities, 2006". Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved July 11, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e Alberta Culture (2025). "Wardlow". Alberta Geographical Names Web Map. Text visible upon selecting the yellow circle.
  5. ^ a b Karamitsanis, Aphrodite (May 30, 1992). Place Names of Alberta: Volume II Southern Alberta. University of Calgary Press. p. 127.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Blumell, James E. (1967). This is Our Land: A Centennial History. New Cessford High School. pp. 263, 297.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Fryer, Harold (1976). Ghost towns of Alberta. Langley, B.C: Stagecoach Pub. Co. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-88983-004-2.
  8. ^ a b Canadian Board on Geographical Names (1928). Place-names of Alberta. Ottawa: F. A. Acland, printer. p. 135.
  9. ^ a b Sanders, Harry Max (2003). The story behind Alberta names: how cities, towns, villages, and hamlets got their names. Calgary, Alta: Red Deer Press. p. 310. ISBN 978-0-88995-256-0.
  10. ^ a b MacRae, Archibald Oswald (1912). History of the Province of Alberta. Vol. 2. Western Canada history Company. pp. 634–635. Mr. and Mrs. Sutherland have three children: Hugh... Marjorie [and] Catherine.
  11. ^ "Announcements - Deaths". Calgary Herald. June 2, 1955. p. 22. Catherine Wardlow Ings, beloved wife of Mr. Eric I. H. Ings...
  12. ^ "Mrs M. W. Kerfoot Buried Here Today". Calgary Herald. September 21, 1939. p. 2. Mrs. Marjorie Whiteford Kerfoot... was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Sutherland. She is survived by... a brother, Hugh Sutherland, and a sister, Mrs. Eric Ings, both of Calgary.
  13. ^ a b c Agriculture Canada (1984). Soil Survey of the County of Warner, Alberta (PDF) (1 ed.). Edmonton: Government of Canada. p. 60.
  14. ^ Drew, Mike (May 11, 2025). "On the Road: Pure prairie country". Calgary Herald.
  15. ^ Drew, Mike (March 12, 2023). "Snowy owls home on the prairie, where deer and antelope usually play". calgarysun. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  16. ^ a b c d e Alberta Family Histories Society. "Cravath Corners Cemetery (Wardlow, Special Area No. 2)". Alberta Ancestors.
  17. ^ a b Canada, Library and Archives (November 25, 2016). "Cravath Corners Archives / Post Offices and Postmasters". recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  18. ^ a b Gordon, Agnes, ed. (1978). Roads to Rose Lynn: A History of the Rose Lynn, Halladay, Sheerness, Stanmore, Scotfield, Richdale and Berry Creek Areas. Rose Lynn Book Club. pp. 290, 380. OCLC 866534634 – via University of Calgary.
  19. ^ Canada, Library and Archives (November 25, 2016). "Wardlow Archives / Post Offices and Postmasters". recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  20. ^ Duchess and District Historical Society (1982). Duchess and District Memories. Duchess: Nesbitt Publishing Company. p. 463 – via University of Calgary.
  21. ^ a b Jones, David C. (2002). Empire of dust: settling and abandoning the prairie dry belt. Calgary: University of Calgary Press. pp. 196–197, 249. ISBN 978-1-55238-085-7.
  22. ^ Town of Hanna. "Passenger Service Demanded". Our Heritage. Archived from the original on November 18, 2025. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
  23. ^ a b Government of Alberta (July 1, 2010). Dinosaur Provincial Park and Area Tourism Development Plan Study (PDF). Government of Alberta. pp. 19, 78.
  24. ^ Canada, Service (January 30, 2026). "Governments of Canada and Alberta to help bring high-speed Internet access to communities across the province". www.canada.ca. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
  25. ^ "Pakistan Prime Minister and His New Bride". The Hanna Herald. April 21, 1955. p. 1 – via University of Lethbridge.
  26. ^ "Mohammed Ali's First Wife Sails For New York". Calgary Herald. September 26, 1955. p. 6.
  27. ^ a b Saddy, Guy (October 12, 2008). "The First Little Mosque on the Prairie". The Walrus. Archived from the original on February 12, 2025. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  28. ^ Balouch, Akhtar (September 8, 2015). "The Pakistani Prime Minister who drove a locomotive". Dawn. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  29. ^ Zakaria, Rafia (October 24, 2014). "Polygamy and Child Wives: Women's Rights Are Going in the Wrong Direction in Pakistan". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  30. ^ Waugh, Earle H. (June 18, 2018). Al Rashid Mosque: Building Canadian Muslim Communities. University of Alberta. p. 227. ISBN 978-1-77212-333-3.
  31. ^ Souissi, Takwa (January 22, 2024). "Edward Saddy". thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.