Cheadle, Alberta

History

The Canadian Pacific Railway named the community Cheadle for Walter Butler Cheadle of Milton and Cheadle explorers who travelled across the prairies and Rocky Mountains in the 1860s. Cheadle and Lord Milton were co-authors of the book The North-West Passage by Land (London, 1865), which describes their expedition in considerable detail.

A record was made when laying the railway track between Strathmore and Cheadle when the railway was built. "In one hour a mile of steel was laid. And, at the end of the ten-hour working day, the rails were laid to Cheadle, nine miles and 300 feet [{{#expr: 9 * 5280 + 300}} ft] for a record." The ties had been laid the night before.

There was just one minor building in Cheadle when the early ranchers and homesteaders began to arrive in the late 1890s. It was a post office, store, and boarding home, run by Mrs. Florence Belwer for the CPR section-men. Cheadle began to grow in the years 1906–1916 to a hardware store, barbershop, blacksmith, restaurant, pool hall, dance hall, three grocery stores, water tank, CPR station and section houses, stockyards, lumberyard, two grain elevators, and several residences. The CPR had once planned to locate Ogden Shops in Cheadle.

The arrival of the automobile and another CPR line from Gleichen to Calgary, through Carseland and Dalemead, along with the building of the Canadian Northern Railway through Lyalta and Ardenode, quickly halted the growth of Cheadle. A lack of directional sign along Highway 1, indicating Cheadle's location, also contributed to the hamlet's demise. Most travellers became completely unaware of Cheadle's existence, and it was often missed from Alberta maps.

At one time grain was hauled to Cheadle from Carseland. The transport teams ate and rested in Cheadle before returning. This all brought much of the business to Cheadle and raised the total number of grain elevators to three. By 1971, Cheadle's post office and grocery store closed. It was purchased by Fritz Gosteli, a local acreage owner originally from Switzerland, who transformed the building into a two-storey single-family residence. There were two main businesses at that time; Risdon's Tomato Enterprise and Ken Hendry's Manufacturing, which was built two years prior. There were only a few residents at that time: Ken & Leona Hendry, Leon & Kay Risdon and family, Tommy Kildea, Doug & Kathy Davies and family, Fritz & Christine Gosteli and family, Mr. & Mrs. H. V. Iles, Dietrich & Regina Volkmann. Between Cheadle and Highway 1 there was Ken and Bev Jones and family, Mr. & Mrs. M. Landru and family, and Mr. & Mrs. H. McElroy and family, and Mr. & Mrs. E. A. Cobb.

Demographics

of Cheadle

|1971|14 |1976|25 |1981|78 |1986|77 |1991|78 |1991A|80 |1996|66 |2001|68 |2006|69 |2011|84 |2016|91 |2016R|109 |2021|83

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Cheadle had a population of 83 living in 35 of its 36 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 109. With a land area of 0.43 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Cheadle had a population of 91 living in 31 of its 31 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 84. With a land area of 0.17 km2, it had a population density of in 2016.

Statues

There is a 5.2 m statue of a Cheetos corn puff located at 400 Railway Avenue. Unveiled in October 2022, the statue was commissioned by the Cheetos Brand, part of PepsiCo Foods. It was not a permanent fixture, and left Cheadle after November 4, 2022, for a tour around Canada.

References

References

1. {{Wheatland County Council (Alberta). ref
2. (March 15, 1906). "Registered Subdivision Plan 754N". Government of Alberta.
4. {{AltaML
5. [http://ca.epodunk.com/profiles/alberta/cheadle/2003657.html Alberta Community Profile]
6. Tom Moore in the Albertan, 1963, "Sketches of Early Calgary"
7. "Trails to the Bow, Carseland and Cheadle Chronicles", Calgary, Printed by D. W. Friesen, 1971, {{ISBN. 0-919212-04-2 - Page 111 - 113 (1971)
8. {{1971CDNcuipr
9. {{1976CDNcuipr
10. {{1981CDNcuipr
11. {{1986CDNcuipr
12. {{1991CDNcuipr
13. {{1996CDNcdplr
14. (August 15, 2012). "Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Divisions, 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].
15. (July 20, 2021). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].
16. (February 8, 2012). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2011 and 2006 censuses (Alberta)". Statistics Canada.
17. (February 9, 2022). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places". [[Statistics Canada]].
18. (February 8, 2017). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].
19. (2022). "Alberta hamlet of Cheadle now home to giant Cheeto statue". [[Bell Media]].
20. "Giant roadside Cheeto attracts a crowd - CNN Video".