Travers is a
hamlet in
southern Alberta, Canada within
Vulcan County. It is located approximately southwest of
Highway 1
The following highways are numbered 1.
For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads.
For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads.
For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads.
For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads.
For roads numbered ...
and southwest of
Brooks.
History
Travers was once a booming community along 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 ...
between
Medicine Hat and
Aldersyde. Travers gets its name from one of the railway's surveyors in 1914.
The first settlers to the area were Pete Brodie, William Dunlop, A. Keene, Tom Emelson, Fred VanHolm, J.W. Murphy, and Sidney Thurlow.
Travers' 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 ...
was built by Home Elevator Co. in 1914 next to the new railway, followed by an
Ogilvie and
United Grain Growers elevator.
Settlers of the area at the time had to receive their mail at
Sundial
A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a flat ...
, 15 miles southwest of Travers. George Shirley opened a post office 4 miles north of Travers in 1909. Soon after another was opened at a store in
Rosemead
Rosemead is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 50,245, currently dropping. Rosemead is part of a cluster of cities, along with Alhambra, Arcadia, Temple City, Monterey Park ...
, 3 miles southwest of Travers.
When the railway came Rosemead post office and store was relocated to Travers. With the arrival of the railway, Travers had a bank, barber shop, butcher shop, harness shop, two hardware and lumber yards, two
blacksmiths
A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such as gates, grill ...
, two
livery barns, restaurants and boarding houses, garages and machine dealers, three grocery stores, pool room, men's clothing store, hotel and real estate office.
Very little remains from the pioneer era of Travers; the last two grain elevators were demolished on January 29, 1989. Many foundations, including the old bank vault, can still be seen along the quiet main street. As of 2000 only one resident remains in Travers.
[Drybelt Pioneers, Second Edition: History of Circle Hill, Enchant, Retlaw, Sundial, Travers - Page 918]
Demographics
The population of Travers according to the
2007 municipal census conducted by Vulcan County is 0.
[
]
See also
* List of communities in Alberta
* 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
Hamlets in Alberta
Vulcan County
{{SouthernAlberta-geo-stub