Carl Stettler (June 6, 1861 – February 1, 1920) was a Swiss-Canadian farmer, businessman and postmaster, after whom the town of

Stettler, Alberta Stettler is a town in east-central Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by the County of Stettler No. 6. The town is nicknamed "The Heart of Alberta". History Stettler was founded in 1905 and was named after Swiss immigrant Carl Stettler, who ...

is named. Stettler was born at

Eggiwil Eggiwil is a municipality in the administrative district of Emmental in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Eggiwil is first mentioned in 1323 as ''Eggenwile''. The village was probably settled in the 14th century. The Kyburg Minister ...

near

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, Switzerland, on June 6, 1861. He moved from Switzerland to the U.S. in 1886. After travelling and working across the U.S., he arrived in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada, in 1903 and bought a ''

Dominion Lands Act The ''Dominion Lands Act'' (long title: ''An Act Respecting the Public Lands of the Dominion'') was an 1872 Canadian law that aimed to encourage the settlement of the Canadian Prairies and to help prevent the area being claimed by the United Sta ...

'' homestead plot two-and-a-half miles east of the present town of Stettler, Alberta. He founded and was the first postmaster of the Swiss and German colony of Blumenau, Alberta in 1905. In the same year, the building of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

(CPR) required moving the entire town of Blumenau to the Stettler site. Stettler became postmaster of the new town, was a CPR land agent there, and the town was named in his honour. He was a member of the first Town Council of Stettler. He built and owned the National Hotel in Stettler which was destroyed by fire in 1908. After selling the property he moved east to

Castor, Alberta Castor is a town in Alberta, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Highway 12 and Highway 861, approximately east of the City of Red Deer. It has an elevation . ''Castor'' is French (also Latin) for beaver. The town is known for its duc ...

where he built and owned two other hotels and organized the

Castor Coal Company Castor most commonly refers to: * Castor (star), a star in the Gemini constellation *Castor, one of the Dioscuri/Gemini twins Castor and Pollux in Greco-Roman mythology Castor or CASTOR may also refer to: Science and technology * Castor (rocket ...

. He remained in Castor until 1919. In his final year, he moved back to Stettler. He died on February 1, 1920, while visiting

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

. His remains were buried in Stettler.

References

*Over 2000 Place Names of Alberta. (expanded third edition) by Eric J. Holmgren and Patricia M. Holmgren. (Saskatoon:Western Producer Prairie Books, 1976)
Overview of the immigration history of Alberta's German-speaking communities (Part 1: 1880s to 1914)
1861 births 1919 deaths Swiss emigrants to Canada Settlers of Canada People from the County of Stettler No. 6 Canadian city founders Canadian postmasters {{Alberta-stub

See also

Archives

References