Stirling Agricultural Village

Last updated
Stirling Agricultural Village
Entrance to Stirling, Alberta - Tourist info. Kiosk.JPG
Replica pioneer home and Bishop's Storehouse to the left
Type Settlement
Etymology John A. Stirling
Location Village of Stirling, Alberta, Canada
Area2.64 km2 (1.02 sq mi)
Elevation935 m (3,068 ft)
Established1899
Founder-Theodore Brandley
-LDS Church
Built1899
Architect Theodore Brandley
Architectural style(s)-Plat of Zion
-Victorian
Governing body Stirling - Village Council
Important eventsStirling Settler Days
Website Village of Stirling
Designated1997

Stirling Agricultural Village was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada on June 22, 1989. [1] The site was designated as a national historical site of Canada because it is the best surviving example of a Mormon agricultural village. [1] The Michelsen Farmstead was the focus of the community, and is now a totally restored museum, listed as a Provincial Historic Site in 2001. [2] The Galt Historic Railway Park is another popular museum located in this historic site.

Contents

History

1938 Parade float celebrating Stirling Settler Days, commemorating the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. The 2nd LDS chapel in the background. StirlingParade.png
1938 Parade float celebrating Stirling Settler Days, commemorating the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. The 2nd LDS chapel in the background.

Stirling was founded on May 5, 1899, by Theodore Brandley. The village was one of two communities that owed its existence to a partnership between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Charles A. Magrath of the North Western Coal and Navigation Company. [3] Stirling was named after John A. Stirling, managing director of The Trusts, Executors and Securities Corporation of London, which owned shares in the Alberta Coal and Railway Company.

After arriving at the Stirling siding, Theodore Brandley quickly started planning the lay-out of the village. The townsite was made up of one square mile (640 acres), then divided into lots of 10 acres (40,000 m2); each with a surveyed road around the entire area with a lane running north and south, dividing it into two parcels. The parcels were then again divided, east and west, making four lots, each 2.5 acres (10,000 m2), giving the residents room to build homes, barns and shelters for animals, with large gardens. Theodore planned the townsite after the Plat of Zion, [4] which Stirling still follows today, and is recognized as the most well-preserved, Canadian example of the Plat of Zion. For this reason, Stirling is known as Stirling Agricultural Village [5]

Museums and attractions

Michelsen Farmstead a Provincial Historic Site of Alberta & museum, located in the village. Michelsen Farmstead.jpg
Michelsen Farmstead a Provincial Historic Site of Alberta & museum, located in the village.
William T. Ogden House William T. Ogden House.jpg
William T. Ogden House

On the east entrance of Main Street is a newly built Information Kiosk made to replicate that of an older Victorian style Pioneer home found throughout Stirling and area. In the kiosk are historical markers and a map that shows many sites of interest throughout the National Historic Site of Stirling. [6]

Museums

Local attractions

Events

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Tilloch Galt</span> Canadian politician

Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, was a politician and a father of the Canadian Confederation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magrath, Alberta</span> Town in Alberta, Canada

Magrath is a town in Cardston County, Alberta, Canada. Its population was 2,374 in 2016. Magrath is 32 km (20 mi) south of Lethbridge and 242 km (150 mi) south of Calgary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stirling, Alberta</span> Village in Alberta, Canada

Stirling is a village in southern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the County of Warner No. 5. The village is located on Highway 4, approximately 31 km (19 mi) southeast of Lethbridge and 72 km (45 mi) northwest of the Canada–US border.

Warner is a village in Alberta, Canada. It is surrounded by the County of Warner No. 5, approximately 65 km (40 mi) south of Lethbridge. Warner is a farming community. Warner is situated at the intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 36, about 38 km north of the Montana border and Interstate 15. Warner's nearest neighbours are the towns of Stirling and Milk River.

The North Western Coal and Navigation Company, also known as Alberta Railway and Coal Company or Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company, was a coal mining company formed in London, England in 1882 by Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt, one of Canada's Fathers of Confederation. As part of his vision for Canada, Galt was committed to finding industries that would bring settlers to the District of Alberta of the Northwest Territories. The company was founded to create a coal mining industry that could bring settlers to the Northwest Territories. It was based in Lethbridge, Alberta, with his son Elliott Torrance Galt, managing day-to-day operations. The company's superintendent was William Stafford. Money for this company came from a consortium of investors from Canada, England, and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Alberta</span> Tourism in Alberta, Canada

Alberta has been a tourist destination since the early days of the 20th Century, with attractions including national parks, National Historic Sites of Canada, urban arts and cultural facilities, outdoor locales for skiing, hiking and camping, shopping locales such as West Edmonton Mall, outdoor festivals, professional athletic events, international sporting competitions such as the Commonwealth Games and Olympic Winter Games, as well as more eclectic attractions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County of Warner No. 5</span> Municipal district in Alberta, Canada

The County of Warner No. 5 is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada. Located in Census Division No. 2 just north of the United States border, its municipal office is located in the Village of Warner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maybutt, Alberta</span> Settlement in Alberta, Canada (est. 1890)

Maybutt, also known as "New Stirling" or "New Town", is a former locality in the County of Warner No. 5, Alberta, Canada. The community is situated 1 km north of the Village of Stirling just off the CANAMEX Corridor between Lethbridge and the Canada–US border. The community has become a bedroom community to Lethbridge, with many newer acreages being developed in the area. The footprint of Maybutt is defined by its historic boundary roads, Young St., Sunnyside Ave., Front St. & Lorne Ave, and Etzikom Ave. York St., First Ave. and Second Ave. are the only interior streets left of the original street grid of Maybutt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Canada</span>

Since its organization in New York in 1830, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a presence in Canada. The church's first missionaries to preach outside of the United States preached in Upper Canada; the first stake to be established outside of the U.S. was the Alberta Stake; and the Cardston Alberta Temple was the first church temple built outside of the boundaries of the United States.

The Galt Historic Railway Park, collects, preserves, restores, exhibits and interprets artifacts which represent the history and social impact of the "steam" era in southern Alberta and the coal era, with emphasis on Galt Railway and the 1890 International Train Station Depot North West Territories from Coutts/Sweetgrass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelsen Farmstead</span> Building in Alberta, Canada

The Andreas Michelsen Farmstead was originally built as a two-room house in 1902 by Andreas himself. In 1912 an addition was added to the home, making seven rooms in total, and little has changed since. The homestead consists of a 1 1/2-story Victorian-style farmhouse with a wraparound porch, and various outbuildings including a barn, granary, calving shed, coal shed, machine shed, storage cellar, corrals and pens, and an outhouse. Landscape elements on the property include a dugout, cistern and filter, and garden. The farmstead is located at the corner of 2nd Avenue & 6th Street, on the west half of four blocks in the northwest corner of the National Historic Site of Stirling, Alberta.[1]

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William T. Ogden House</span> Building in Alberta, Canada

William T. Ogden House is a historic Neo-Classical Georgian style brick mansion located on 3 acres (12,000 m2) in Stirling, Alberta, Canada. Construction of the house began in 1910 and was finished in 1919 by William T. Ogden. The house has been a rooming house, pool hall and a dance studio, and in 1934 it became a temporary school for grades 1 through 4 due after the local school was affected by fire. This home is actually mentioned in village records as thought to be haunted as far back as the 1950s. Every Halloween, the owners conduct Stirling Haunted Mansion tours, making it the largest haunted house in Southern Alberta. The Santa Claus Mansion event is held there each December in conjunction with a Christmas lights tour. A 16-inch (410 mm) gauge mini railroad, the Lost Frontier Mini-Railway, winds its way around the estate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theodore Brandley</span>

Johann Theodore Brandley was a Mormon missionary and colonizer of the agricultural village of Stirling, Alberta, Canada.

Conrad is a former unincorporated community in the County of Warner No. 5, Alberta, Canada. The population of the community was fairly small and only had around 5 people with two grain elevators. Today nothing remains of the community, but its original location on the historic Red Coat Trail was 8 km (4 mi) east of the Hamlet of Wrentham and about 24 km (14 mi) west of the Village of Foremost. The community was named by the Canadian Pacific Railway.

Lucky Strike is a locality in the County of Warner No. 5, Alberta, Canada located on Highway 501, approximately 26 km (16 mi) east of the Town of Milk River and 18 km (11 mi) south of the Village of Foremost.

Judson is a former unincorporated community in southern Alberta, Canada within the County of Warner No. 5. It is located on Highway 61 between the villages of Stirling and Wrentham, approximately 45 kilometres (28 mi) southeast of the City of Lethbridge.

Craddock is a former unincorporated community in southern Alberta, Canada within the County of Warner No. 5. It is located between the Village of Stirling and the Hamlet of New Dayton, approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) southeast of the City of Lethbridge on Highway 4.

McNab is a former unincorporated community in southern Alberta, Canada within the County of Warner No. 5. It is located on Highway 506 between the Hamlet of New Dayton and the Village of Warner, approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) southeast of the City of Lethbridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mormon Trail (Canada)</span>

Canada's Mormon Trail has a variety of National Historic Sites, Provincial Historic Sites and many points of interest that display the unique cultural heritage the Mormons have had in the settling of Southern Alberta.

References

  1. 1 2 "Stirling Agricultural Village National Historic Site of Canada". www.pc.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
  2. Village of Stirling. "Michelsen Farmstead" . Retrieved 2007-11-13.
  3. North Western Coal and Navigation Company [ dead link ] Retrieved on 2007-08-02
  4. Plat Zion of the city of Zion, by Joseph Smith. Retrieved on 2007-08-02
  5. Parks Canada Village of Stirling National Historic Site of Canada Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine , Parks Canada, accessed 2008-02-26.
  6. Parks Canada-Village of Stirling "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. Retrieved 2007-11-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. Galt Historic Railway Park http://www.galtrailway.com/
  8. Michelsen Farm "The Michelsen Farm - an Historic Landmark". Archived from the original on 2008-07-09. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
  9. William T. Ogden House Stirling Haunted Mansion. Retrieved on 2007-08-02
  10. William T. Ogden House Lost Frontier Mini-Railway. Archived 2011-05-23 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 2007-08-02