The University of Alberta has a on-line archive of documents and photos, they 18 photos showing Gleichen and related pictures in the early days. Here are some of the ones that show Gleichen in it’s early days.
If you look in the above photo to the left you can see old CIBC building set back from the rest of the buildings (a bit of roof is showing). Currently this building houses our community Library. The best guess is that this photo was taken post World War I but prior to the big fire of 1920. The Model T’s in the photo have side doors which indicates post 1915 and were not common till post 1917.
One of the post cards from the U of A shows the same street (main) as above but looking from the opposite direction. It was taken in 1909 and the Library/CIBC building is clearly visible in this one. Some of the buildings changed in the time between the two pictures. Notice the small building between the library and the 3 story hotel to it’s right (in this picture) it goes from a small building in this one to a large 3 story building in the later one. That new building was a Royal Bank of Canada. Also on the right is the three story Larkin Block building.
Another 1908/9 image shows more of the town to the west of the previous picture. The roof of the library building can be made out in the bottom right corner. Central to the picture is the Anglican Church which is one of the oldest buildings in Gleichen. Also the Palace Hotel is being renovated in this picture and the Gleichen Livery Stable is located on the site the current County of Wheatland shop occupies which at one point also housed the arena.
The Elevator in the above picture was used to take the previous aerial photos.
The CIBC/Library building can be seen clearly in this picture as well as the Royal bank building to it’s right. Many of the people watching the parade are standing on the balconies of the Gleichen Hotel which burned down around 1920, it was replaced by the Queens hotel which in 1948 charged a dollar a night and which itself burned down in 2001. This picture was taken during the 1915 Rodeo.
This 1911 image is looking to the Northwest of the elevator and shows many of the houses in town at that time.
This image of the Palace Hotel was taken in 1910 a year after it opened in 1909. The hotel was located on the land across from the current Community Hall / Legion building (ie the hall parking lot). In 1916 the rates where 50cents for a meal, 75 cents to a dollar for a first floor room and 50 cents for a second floor room and the whole hotel is listed as having steam heat.
The community hall in 1930 was located where the post office is currently located as this photo shows the cenotaph in front of it.
Wolf Head and son riding down main street in the 1880’s.
A different group of Blackfoot men on horseback in front of the same building in the 1880’s.
Community Related
Three postcards published by the Gleichen druggist A.R. Yates in 1905 show life around Gleichen. The first is of Cattle being dipped and the second shows a Horse ranch with 1000 horses, the third shows cattle being branded.
A 1920 post card shows a Altman Taylor harvesting machine in action.
The 1925 Calgary Stampede saw Slim Moorehouse pull 10 wagons of wheat with 36 horse from Gleichen to the Calgary Stampede. This image of the team was taken along the route, the suspicion is it was taken in Calgary.
Siksika Related
A 1907 postcard showing an Indian Encampment.
A 190? postcard shows a native lady with her baby in a Papoose.
A post card from the early 1900’s shows a native women and a horse.
A 1907 postcard shows a Metis camp near Gleichen.
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