Kelsey is a
hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
in
central Alberta
Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.
Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy.
Geography
Central Alberta is bordere ...
, Canada within
Camrose County
Camrose County is a municipal district in central Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 10, around the City of Camrose.
Geography Communities and localities
The following urban municipalities are surrounded by Camrose Cou ...
. It is located off
Highway 850, approximately southeast of
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
and southeast of
Camrose, Kelsey's closest major trading centre.
Kelsey is home to several local businesses, a community hall, and a post office. Both school and fire services are provided by the nearby villages of
Rosalind and
Bawlf.
History
In 1902, Mr. and Mrs. Moses Kelsey and their son Earl, arrived in the area from
Milbank, South Dakota
Milbank is a city in Grant County, South Dakota, United States, located along the South Fork of the Whetstone River. The population was 3,544 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Grant County. Milbank is the birthplace of American Legio ...
, and filed on the S.E. 4-45-18. The southeast corner of this quarter of land was later chosen as the site for the community. Milton Zimmerman settled in the area in the same year and suggested the community be named after Kelsey.
In 1915, the
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States.
CN i ...
began laying steel in a south-easterly direction from Camrose. It passed through what a few weeks later became the town of Kelsey. This stretch of railroad is noted for being the longest stretch of straight railway in North America... "if not in the world," some people add.
In 1916, a station house was built in Kelsey and Charlie Cooper, with his wife Anne and family, took up residence in it. The first
grain elevator
A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...
, and two stores were also constructed in the growing town.
By 1920 telephone service had been installed in the Kelsey district and the next few years saw the Kelsey Union Church, a dance hall, and a one room school.
The first
power line
An overhead power line is a structure used in electric power transmission and distribution to transmit electrical energy across large distances. It consists of one or more uninsulated electrical cables (commonly multiples of three for three-p ...
to reach Kelsey was constructed in 1951.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population conducted by
Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...
, Kelsey had a population of 15 living in 8 of its 9 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 15. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
As a designated place in the
2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Kelsey had a population of 15 living in 7 of its 7 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 15. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.
See also
*
List of communities in Alberta
The province of Alberta, Canada, is divided into ten types of local governments – urban municipalities (including cities, towns, villages and summer villages), specialized municipalities, rural municipalities (including municipal district ...
*
List of designated places in Alberta
A designated place is a type of geographic unit used by Statistics Canada to disseminate census data. It is usually "a small community that does not meet the criteria used to define incorporated municipalities or Statistics Canada Population cen ...
*
List of hamlets in Alberta
Hamlets in the province of Alberta, Canada, are unincorporated communities administered by, and within the boundaries of, specialized municipalities or rural municipalities ( municipal districts, improvement districts and special areas). The ...
References
{{Alberta, hamlets=yes
Camrose County
Hamlets in Alberta
Designated places in Alberta