Whiskey Gap, originally known as "Fareham", is a
ghost town
Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to:
* Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned
Film and television
* Ghost Town (1936 film), ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser
* Ghost Town (1956 film), ''Ghost Town'' ...
in
Cardston County
Cardston County is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 3 around the Town of Cardston.
The municipal district was established on January 1, 1954, through the amalgamation of the ''Municipal Dist ...
,
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. The former community is approximately south of the city of
Lethbridge
Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...
, southeast of the town of
Cardston
Cardston is a town in Alberta, Canada. It was first settled in 1887 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who travelled from Utah, via the Macleod-Benton Trail, to present-day Alberta in one of the century's ...
and west of
Del Bonita on
Highway 501.
History
![Del Bonita (3851860166)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Del_Bonita_%283851860166%29.jpg)
In the 1860s and 1870s American traders crossed into what would eventually become Alberta to trade goods and alcohol for buffalo robes and furs. One of the main routes for this trade, the Riplinger Road, crossed the border just west of Whiskey Gap. Many of the wagon cart trails from the early settlers from this era can still be seen over a hundred years later throughout the valley.
During the
Canadian prohibition period in Alberta between 1916 and 1924 alcohol was smuggled through this area from the United States into Canada. Later alcohol was smuggled in the opposite direction when the
American prohibition
In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a nationwide constitutional law prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, and ...
was declared between 1920 and 1933.
The local post office was named Fareham in 1918. When 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 ...
reached the area, the community boomed. Consisting of three
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 ...
s, a store, and other businesses and houses grew up around the railway. In 1929 with some hesitation from local
LDS
LDS may refer to:
Organizations
* LDS Hospital, Salt Lake City, Utah, US Religion
* Latter Day Saint movement (LDS movement), a collection of independent church groups
**The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the largest group within t ...
families, the community was officially renamed Whiskey Gap. Although little remains of this once thriving community, its name reflects its long and colourful past and strategic location. Only a historic plaque with various foundations spread throughout the site are visible through the overgrown prairie grass along the abandoned railway next to highway 501.
A small church building was moved from the community of
Jefferson Jefferson may refer to:
Names
* Jefferson (surname)
* Jefferson (given name)
People
* Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States
* Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...
sometime in the 1980-1990s to be used as a private dwelling. It now remains the only structure in Whiskey Gap. Many of Whiskey Gap's commercial buildings have since been moved to the nearby community of Del Bonita, Alberta. These buildings were used as a tourist attraction and bed and breakfast called the Little Ghost Town on the Prairie Ltd., now closed.
Geography
The town site is in a pass through the Milk River range of hills on a watershed between the
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
and
Saskatchewan River
The Saskatchewan River (Cree: ''kisiskāciwani-sīpiy'', "swift flowing river") is a major river in Canada. It stretches about from where it is formed by the joining together of the North Saskatchewan and South Saskatchewan Rivers to Lake Winn ...
drainage system, which suggests the name "gap" at first glance.
Media
In 1961
Colin Low] of the
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
created "Days of Whiskey Gap"
Days_of_Whiskey_Gap_.html" ;"title="National Film Board of Canada">Days of Whiskey Gap ">
- 1961/ref> a short film depicting tales of the North-West Mounted Police">National Film Board of Canada
- 1961/ref> a short film depicting tales of the North-West Mounted Police efforts to enforce "Queen's law" ensuring Western Canada did not become a lawless frontier like the early "Wild West" of the American frontier.
In 1976 Whiskey Gap hosted the production of Terrence Malick's period film ''Days of Heaven''. Covered wagons, coaches, old-fashioned trucks, and hundreds of people dressed in period clothing bustled about the area during filming.
See also
* List of ghost towns in Alberta
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...
* Prohibition in Canada
Prohibition in Canada was a ban on alcoholic beverages that arose in various stages, from local municipal bans in the late 19th century (extending to the present in some cases), to provincial bans in the early 20th century, and national prohibi ...
* Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
* Rum-running
Rum-running or bootlegging is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling usually takes place to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. The ter ...
* Fort Whoop-up
Fort Whoop-Up was the nickname (eventually adopted as the official name) given to a whisky trading post, originally Fort Hamilton, near what is now Lethbridge, Alberta. During the late 19th century, the post served as a centre for trading acti ...
References
External links
Cardston County
Days of Whiskey Gap
- National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
The Little Ghost Town on the Prairie Ltd.
- Closed
{{Coord, 49, 01, 57, N, 113, 01, 53, W, display=title, region:CA_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki
Ghost towns in Alberta
Alcohol in Alberta
Localities in Cardston County
Populated places established in 1918
Fur trade
Smuggling
Prohibition in Canada
Prohibition in the United States
American frontier