Travers, Alberta

Hamlet in Alberta, Canada

50°14′35″N 112°33′22″W / 50.243°N 112.556°W / 50.243; -112.556CountryCanadaProvinceAlbertaRegionSouthern AlbertaCensus division5Municipal districtCounty of VulcanFounded1914Government

• Governing bodyVulcan County CouncilPopulation

(2007)^[1]

• Total0Time zoneUTC−7 (MST) • Summer (DST)UTC−6 (MDT)Postal code span

T0L 1G0

Area code+1-403

Travers is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within Vulcan County.^[2] It is located approximately 59 kilometres (37 mi) southwest of Highway 1 and 59 kilometres (37 mi) southwest of Brooks.

History

Travers was once a booming community along the Canadian Pacific Railway 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 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, 15 miles (24.1 km) southwest of Travers. George Shirley opened a post office 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Travers in 1909. Soon after, another was opened at a store in Rosemead, 3 miles (4.8 km) 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, 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.^[3]

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.^[4]

Demographics

The population of Travers, according to the 2007 municipal census conducted by Vulcan County, is 0.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b "Alberta Population Summary: Alberta's Hamlets Alphabetically, 2010" (PDF). Alberta Population. Retrieved September 25, 2021.
^ "Specialized and Rural Municipalities and Their Communities" (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
^ Drybelt Pioneers, Second Edition: History of Circle Hill, Enchant, Retlaw, Sundial, Travers - Page 916-940
^ Drybelt Pioneers, Second Edition: History of Circle Hill, Enchant, Retlaw, Sundial, Travers - Page 918