Claresholm Welcome Sign - Claresholm, Alberta - 3,394 Feet
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T0SHEA
N 50° 00.830 W 113° 34.540
12U E 315473 N 5543347
The Claresholm Welcome sign with elevation is on northbound Hwy. 2. There is a old grain elevator just north of the sign.
Waymark Code: WMPKN1
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 09/14/2015
Views: 1
History
Claresholm began as a railway siding. In the 1880s the lush grasslands had drawn ranchers to the foothills to the West. Their herds of cattle roamed across the prairie as far East as the Little Bow River. With the construction of the rail line from Calgary to Macleod, ranchers were able to ship their cattle from Claresholm to markets elsewhere.
The railway could also bring people here, and the siding would provide the nucleus for the town. In response to an extensive advertising campaign by the government of Canada and the Canadian Pacific Railway, settlers began to flood into this area. Hundreds of families came here from the Northern United States and Eastern Canada. They came for the free homestead land, and for the opportunity to have a better life for themselves and their families.
Businesses flourished, providing the services needed in the area. Claresholm grew rapidly, and was granted town status on August 31, 1905.
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