History

From 1899 to 1903, Glenbow was a Canadian Pacific Railway water stop on the mainline a short distance west of Calgary.

By 1908, the Canadian Pacific Railway had established a small flag station at Glenbow, and in 1909 the Glenbow stone quarry began production of Paskapoo sandstone blocks used in the construction of Alberta's Legislature.

Hard working stonemasons and their families worked and lived at Glenbow during the 4 years the quarry was in operation.

When closed in 1912, the quarry owner (Chester Rhodes de la Vergne) opened a brick plant in the valley to the west of Glenbow to provide these families with another source of income.

With the start of World War One, the brickyards also shut down, and the population of Glenbow slowly declined, until the last residents moved away in 1927.

Chester Rhodes de la Vergne, the American investor behind the quarry, brickworks, and the town of Glenbow sold the Glenbow Sheep and Horse Ranch to Eric L. Harvie in 1933.

Glenbow Ranch was established as a Provincial Park in 2006 through the cooperation of the Harvie family and the Government of Alberta. (News Release)

Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park will open to the public on August 9, 2011.