Stettler & District History Book

TOWN - MAIN STREET #495 photo 3 (from Alf Erichsen).jpg

Stettler & District History Book

PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE

Announcement!

Are you interested in purchasing the Stettler & District History Book?

The Stettler & District History Book committee is almost ready to publish our book! It covers the history of Stettler and the surrounding district from the early 1900's until the present. We expect to have the book to the publisher by early 2024 and it will be available by about mid-2024. It will be a set of 3 books, with about 2000 pages of content total. The price has not been confirmed yet, but we are trying to keep the price under $175 for the set of 3.

If you may be interested in purchasing the book for yourself, a family member, or your business,

please fill out this form by clicking the button below!

We are trying to get an estimate on how many books we should order. We will contact you when we open preorders in the next few months to see if you're still interested.

Thousands of hours of work have gone into creating these books and we are so excited to share them with you soon! Please spread the word!

Interest Form

Book Naming Contest

Calling all creatives!

The Stettler & District History Book is holding a contest to name the history book. If you have an idea for the title that should grace the cover, please email your entry to historybookstettler@gmail.com.

Our committee will select the winning title and the winner will receive a set of history books!

The Committee

The Stettler & District History Book Committee is a group of dedicated volunteers that has been actively working on preserving Stettler's heritage since 2015. Unlike many small Albertan towns, there has never been a community history book for Stettler. Our mission is to bring Stettler the history book it deserves before our valuable heritage is lost.

The committee has gathered thousands of photos and stories and put in endless hours of work.

This is the official history book website and it will be updated regularly. Stay tuned for our progress reports! Preorders will be opening soon.

c. 2019

December 2023

Keirsten Docherty

Sep 13, 2022

Call for Research Volunteers

The Stettler & District History Book Committee relies on the work of our dedicated volunteers. We appreciate their contributions so much!...

Recent Updates

Our Progress

Look how far we've come!

2519

Family and Business Stories

(and counting!)

15,000+

Volunteer
Hours

to date

9585

Submitted
Photos

to choose from

Gallery

Projects

Color photo of CN Canadian National railway train station with an antique blue car and a man in a suit. The Alberta Wheat Pool grain elevator is across the tracks

Black and white photo of Main Street in Stettler Alberta with the caption "Out For a Drive in Stettler, Alta". The photo shows several men in hats and suits riding on a wooden cart that is being pulled by a cow or bull. Stettler buildings are in the background

Black and White photo of Jimmy's Hardware in Stettler in 1986

Color photo of G&H Foods grocery store in Stettler before the move in 1982, likely in the 1970's, on Main Street

Black and white sepia photo of 50 Avenue in Stettler with many wooden carts and horses, donkeys, and dogs. Buildings in the background include Feed & Sale Stable, the Bon-Ton Livery, a Furniture Store, and more

Black and white photo of 50 Ave in Stettler showing Sharpe & Page on the corner along with several antique vehicles. It also shows Stettler Independent Newspaper building, Stettler Garage and Taxi

Black and white photo of Main Street in Stettler with several old buildings, a wagon cart, and the train station in the background

Black and white historic photo of Main Street Stettler Alberta
Lawrence & Co. clothing store, Dunlap Drugs pharmacy, O.R. Wilson's Clothiers and Dry Cleaners, post office, cars

Outdoor swimming pool or wading pool with children swimming at Stettler Courthouse

Black and white historic photo of Main Street Stettler showing residents on a horse-drawn wagon in front of Stettler Traders Bank and "Formaldehyde for Smut" sign with caption "Out for a drive in Stettler"

Black and white historic photo of fire department in Stettler Alberta showing fire engines, hoses, tanks, fire trucks, residents

Black and white historic photo of Holton Bradley Hardware, Dunbar & Ragan Hardware, cafe, general store, billiards, cars on Main Street Stettler Alberta

Black and white historic aerial photo of Stettler viewed from Stettler school showing houses, streets, grain elevators in Stettler Alberta

Black and white historic photo of privately-owned Stettler Creamery in Stettler Alberta 1906 owned by George Patrick, first milk deliverer in Stettler

Black and white historic photo of Main Street Stettler Alberta showing Crown Lumber, Elite photography Studio (McCurlie), cafe and cars

Contact

Stettler's beautiful Main Street is wider than most of the Main Streets in other communities - and there's a reason for that! Unlike other communities in Alberta, Stettler was a Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) village and it was established on CPR lands following a CPR village plan. That plan included a wider Main Street and the CPR station was at the north end of the street!

Did You Know?

Maps

Stettler's Original Street Names

Timeline

This timeline will be expanded - check back for updates!

1904

1906

November

1907

Apr 28

1907

November

1908

August

1908

Oct 13

1909

January

Erskine had one of the first newspapers in the area.

Stettler reaches village status.

Stettler officially became a town. The news was celebrated in various ways including discharging fire arms.

Other towns in the province were testing for gas and oil in their areas. With such a vast amount of coal underlaying the Stettler area, it was thought to be very likely that gas or oil was also in our area and only needed to be drilled for.

The bodies of Brainard and White, two men who were lost and frozen to death some months previous, were brought to town by constables Tucker and Black.

Mr. David Tewksbury of Red Willow had purchased a Cockshutt steam gang plow and was breaking up the prairie in good style. In favorable land, the plow would turn over 30 acres a day. He was doing breaking for the cost of $ 3 per acre.

The first aircraft experiment on the Canadian mainland was conducted at a now-extinct village, Krugerville, near the town of Stettler by the Underwood family.

Telephone comes to Stettler. First phone numbers were single digit.

Cars started to appear in Stettler. The first car was used by the German Colonization Co. in their Real Estate Bus. They could be powered by steam, gasoline and or electricity. They could be steered from the right hand side, the left hand side and or the centre with a "tiller."

Big fire in Stettler left nothing but ashes from the centre of the town to the north of it. Two business blocks were completely wiped off the map and the life of 22 year old Leslie Mellor was lost. Three hotels, a dozen business houses, and two lumber yards and stock were lost .Estimated loss $200,000, insurance $85,000.

Stettler in four years has grown from bald Prairie to a town of over 2000 inhabitants and over 100 business places (partial listing).