Sharples is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2016, the region's population was approximately 291,112. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The region is known mostly for agricultural production, but o ...

, Canada within the badlands region of

Kneehill County Kneehill County is a municipal district in central Alberta, Canada within Census Division No. 5. History ''"The municipal history of Kneehill County began in when"'' ic''"the Rural Municipality of Roach formed in 1913... In 1945, the Munici ...

. The community is located along the former

track bed The track bed or trackbed is the groundwork onto which a railway track is laid. Trackbeds of disused railways are sometimes used for recreational paths or new light rail links. Background According to Network Rail Network Rail Limited is t ...

of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

Carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

Drumheller Drumheller is a town on the Red Deer River in the badlands of east-central Alberta, Canada. It is located northeast of Calgary and south of Stettler. The Drumheller portion of the Red Deer River valley, often referred to as Dinosaur Vall ...

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

. It was built in the 1920s when the CPR line was extended through the area. The community was the site of two

grain elevator A grain elevator or grain terminal 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 lowe ...

s serving local farmers. At its peak in the 1940s the elevators were handling over 100,000 bushels of wheat per year and a small number of houses surrounded them for those who worked there. The branch line, and with it the grain elevators, were shut in 1982 as the coal industry in the area dwindled making it unprofitable for the CPR. The elevator owned by the

Alberta Wheat Pool The Alberta Wheat Pool was the first of Canada's wheat agricultural cooperative, farmer co-operatives in 1923. History Early years In 1923, the United Farmers of Alberta met with then Attorney General John Edward Brownlee to consider setting up ...

was demolished, but the Parrish & Heimbecker grain elevator remains standing.

References

* * {{coord, 51, 28, 42, N, 113, 3, 50, W, type:city_region:CA-AB, name=Sharples, display=title Ghost towns in Alberta Localities in Kneehill County

See also

References