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Waterhole, Alberta

Field	Value
official_name	Waterhole
settlement_type	Unincorporated locality
image_skyline	File:Waterhole, Alberta.jpg
image_caption	Waterhole, 1920
pushpin_map	Alberta#Canada
pushpin_label_position	right
coordinates
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Canada
subdivision_type1	Province
subdivision_name1	Alberta
subdivision_type2	Municipal district
subdivision_name2	Fairview No. 136
timezone	MST
utc_offset	−7
timezone_DST	MDT
utc_offset_DST	−6
blank1_name	GNBC Code
blank1_info	IAOZM

Waterhole is an unincorporated locality in the Municipal District of Fairview No. 136, Alberta, Canada. Now a ghost town, Waterhole prospered during the early 1900s.

History

The location was known in the late 1800s as "The Waterhole", because potable water from Boucher Creek could be found in a waterhole located there. The first settler arrived in 1908, and a post office was established in 1912. In 1914, a general store opened. That same year, an annual agricultural fair was started, and Waterhole had over 50 residents. In 1916, a community hall was built, and by 1926, Waterhole had a doctor's office, a livery barn, a black smith, a hardware store, a bank, a telegraph office, electrical generator, and telephone service. The Empire Hotel in Waterhole was owned by three Chinese immigrants. Waterhole was "the focal point for a wide range of commercial and social activity" between Peace River and Dunvegan.

Decline

When the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway was built through the area in 1928, it bypassed Waterhole, and was constructed through Fairview, located 6 km north of Waterhole. To benefit from the economic prosperity associated with being near a railroad, most of the families and businesses in Waterhole moved to Fairview, where Waterhole residents were given first choice of surveyed lots for sale. Some Waterhole buildings were transported to Fairview, while others were dismantled and then rebuilt there.

Fairview prospered as a regional centre to the surrounding agricultural area.

The post office in Waterhole closed in 1932, and Waterhole was abandoned. Few structures remained in Waterhole, and much of the former townsite was plowed over and used for agriculture. The Waterhole Cemetery continues to operate.

In 1990, an archaeological investigations was conducted at Waterhole.

Notable people

Donald MacBeth Kennedy, Member of Parliament.

References

(February 16, 2021). "Waterhole". Natural Resources Canada.
(November 2, 2016). "Fairview No. 136". Statistics Canada.
Kowal, Walt. (1992). "Archaeological Investigations at Historic Waterhole". Provincial Museum of Alberta.
(October 26, 2023). "Waterhole". Library and Archives Canada.
"The Arrival of Euro-Canadian Homesteaders and the Emergence of an Agricultural Sector". Alces.
(2015). "Fairview".
"Municipal Cemeteries". Municipal District of Fairview No. 136.
"Fonds F1071 - Donald Macbeth Kennedy fonds". University of Calgary.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

ghost-towns-in-alberta localities-in-the-municipal-district-of-fairview-no.-136

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