Claresholm Train Station

Claresholm Train Station. When the railway reached Claresholm in 1891 a converted box car served as the first train station. It was replaced in 1895 by a wood frame building. By 1910 the growing Town of Claresholm required a larger, more permanent train station., The present building was originally part of Calgary's 9th Avenue CPR station. Constructed in 1893 of sandstone drawn from the Elbow River Quarry, the Calgary site was composed of two separate buildings surrounded by an extensive garden park. The station gardens were widely promoted by the CPR and other rail companies across the country in the period from 1907 to 1930., The CPR dismantled the Calgary Station in 1910. Half of the materials were shipped to Claresholm to be used in the construction of a new station. The remaining sandstone was sent to High River, where a sister station was erected., Claresholm's sandstone station building was completed in December 1911. It served the community until 1965, when regular passenger service was discontinued. In 1969 the former station was officially opened as the Claresholm Museum. From 1990 to 1992 the Town of Claresholm undertook extensive upgrading of the original station site and building. The Louise Crummy McKinney Memorial Garden and Visitor Information Centre at the museum grounds were officially dedicated in 1992., Photographs courtesy of the Glenbow Archives, Calgary. Above left: Gardens at CPR Calgary, early 1900's. Above: CPR Depot, Calgary, 1905