Soda Lake
Posted by: 
yellowmojo
N 53° 46.406 W 112° 04.222
12U E 429458 N 5958845
A historical marker reminding the world of a community that once thrived in this area. There is a cemetary
Waymark Code: WMCE09
Location: Alberta, Canada
Date Posted: 08/27/2011
Views: 7
The Soda Lake area became home to a rich variety of settlers beginning in the 1890s. First came those of Metis and British heritage, then Romanians, Ukrainians and other settlers arrived from eastern Europe.
By 1904 when the school district was established, the name Soda Lake was in general use. The name was taken from nearby Soda Lake, so called because of the high soda content in its shallow waters. A post office opened in 1907 as Soda Lake was becoming an important district service centre.
Women from the Soda Lake and Hairy Hill areas formed the United Farm Women of Alberta Pleasant Hill Local 340. They held bake sales, put on concerts and skating parties, and sewed quilts to raise money for community and charitable causes. A pie socail in November, 1926, raised $53.35. The meeting schedule of the Local reflects the agricultural nature of its membership: meetings were not held in the spring because of the pressures of spring work, and not in the early fall because of harvest's many demands.
In the early 1920s, the United Farm Women often held their events at the Soda Lake School. But by the mid 1920s, most of their activites were taking place at the Hairy Hill School. With the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway branch line, and the establishment of the Hairy Hill siding to the north in 1927, the fate of Soda Lake as a district service centre was sealed, and the settlement continued it's decline.
Type of Marker: Geographical / Natural History
Sign Age: New Alberta Tourism Marker Style
Parking: parking pull out on North side of hwy 29
Placement agency: Alberta Tourism
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