Canadian Northern Railway Station

Meeting Creek

Street Address:	Railway Avenue
Community:	Meeting Creek
Boundaries:	Block A, Plan 5614AF
Contributing Resources:	Building: 1

ATS Legal Description:

Mer	Rge	Twp	Sec	LSD
4 4	19 19	43 43	5 5	13 14

PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):

Plan	Block	Lot	Parcel
5614 AF	A	N/A

Latitude/Longitude:

Latitude	Longitude	CDT	Datum Type
52.681222	-112.727914	GPS	NAD 83

UTM Reference:

Northing	Easting	Zone	CDT	Datum Type

Recognition

Recognition Authority:	Province of Alberta
Designation Status:	Provincial Historic Resource
Date of Designation:	2008/01/30

Historical Information

Built:	1913 to 1913
Period of Significance:
Theme(s):	Developing Economies : Communications and Transportation Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life : Architecture and Design
Historic Function(s):	Transport - Rail : Station or Other Rail Facility
Current Function(s):	Leisure : Museum
Architect:	Ralph Benjamin Pratt
Builder:
Context:	HISTORICAL CONTEXT: In 1909, Premier Rutherford of Alberta announced a program of vast railway expansion in the province, offering bond guarantees to major railway companies to build branch lines in districts where they seemed warranted. The railway company to undertake the greatest extent of track as a result of this was the Canadian Northern (CNoR). One of the lines it built was between Stettler and Camrose, completed in 1911. As was its practice, the Canadian Northern erected stations at key points along the line, and, in some cases, townsites were subdivided. This was the case with Meeting Creek, which was located in a district that had already been settled, largely by Americans. When the railway came through, the tiny community, established in 1905, was moved five miles to be included in the new townsite. Being less than 18 kilometres from the larger farming centers of Donalda and Bashaw, and 30 kilometres away from Camrose, Meeting Creek never grew to sufficient size to be incorporated. It did, however, possess most of the amenities of a prairie farming community, including stores, garages, livery stables, a blacksmith shop, a bank, a hotel, and, eventually, three grain elevators. It also had a small, but busy, railway station, constructed in 1913. This was a two-storey structure with a warehouse attached. It was subdivided into an office, waiting room, freight house, and living quarters for the station agent and his family. Life in the community of Meeting Creek evolved around the businesses along main street, which ran perpendicular to the station, and the station itself. All passengers and incoming and outgoing freight were handled by the station agent, including the export of grain. The agent was also the district telegrapher. When the Canadian Northern was merged with the Grand Trunk Pacific (GTP) Railway in 1919 to form Canadian National (CN), many small branch lines were closed down in Alberta, but the Camrose - Stettler line remained open, as sufficient agricultural products were being shipped out from the district in between to warrant this. By the 1960's, however, improved highway traffic saw the closure of train service in Meeting Creek, although the Camrose - Stettler branch line would remain operating until 1997. Being that there was little development in Meeting Creek in the years after the railway station was closed, the structure managed to survive, along with the Alberta Pacific Grain Elevator, and, in 1989, it was designated a provincial historic site. Today it is an integral part of the Canadian Northern Society's tour of significant rail sites. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The historical significance of the Meeting Creek Railway Station lies in its service as a typical class three Canadian Northern station, serving a small farming district between the larger centers of Donalda, Bashaw and Camrose. It does, however, speak for countless other small stations which have not survived. It is also important in being one of the few pre-World War One structures constituting the original hamlet of Meeting Creek. (D. Leonard, June 2005)

Additional Information

Object Number:	4665-1054
Designation File:	DES 1330
Related Listing(s):
Heritage Survey File:	HS 81991
Website Link:
Data Source:	Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch, Old St. Stephen's College, 8820 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P8 (Des. 1330)