The History of Cheadle

The early years of the community

The following is a writing from the book, "Trails to the Bow, Carseland and Cheadle Chronicles".
minor editing

The Cheadle Story

The C.P.R named the little siding "Cheadle" for Dr. Cheadle of Milton and Cheadle explorers. Dr. Cheadle and Lord Milton were co-authors of the book "North West Passage by Land".

A track laying record was made between Strathmore and Cheadle when the railroad was built. Tom Moore in the Albertan, 1963, quotes the following from "Sketches of Early Calgary":

"In one hour a mile of steel was laid. And, at the end of the ten-hour working day, the rails were laid to Cheadle, nine miles and 300 feet for a record that, even in this modern day of powerful machinery is believed to be unsurpassed." The ties had been strung the night before.

When the early ranchers and homesteaders came, there was just one little building in Cheadle; a store, post office and boarding house, run by Mrs. Belwer for the C.P.R section-men. From this small beginning Cheadle grew in the years 1906-1916 to three grocery stores, a hardware, barbershop, restaurant, pool hall, blacksmith shop, water tank, C.P.R station and section houses, livery stable, lumberyard, dance hall, two elevators, and several residences. John A. McDonald (our citizen, not the Prime Minister) at one time made the remark that he was sure Cheadle would become the capital of Western Canada. At one time the C.P.R. had planned to locate Ogden Shops at Cheadle.

Construction of the first Gosteli house in June of 1964

The coming of the automobile and another C.P.R. line from Gleichen to Calgary, through Carseland and Dalemead, and building of the C.N.R. through Lyalta and Ardenode, spelled the end of the thriving town of Cheadle.

Grain had been hauled to Cheadle from Carseland at one time; the teams were rested and fed at Cheadle before the return trip, this all brought business to Cheadle. By 1971 Cheadle had three elevators, and no longer a store or post office. There were two main businesses, Ken Hendry's Manufacturing, which was built two years prior, and Risdon's Tomato Enterprise. The residents at that time were: Ken and Leona Hendry, Leon and Kay Risdon and family, Tommy Kildea, Doug and Kathy Davies and family, Fritz & Christine Gosteli and family, Mr. & Mrs. H. V. Iles, and Dietrich & Regina Volkmann. Between Cheadle village and Highway No. 1 there was Ken and Bev Jones and family, Mr. And Mrs. M. Landru and family, and Mr. Mrs H. McElroy and family, and Mr. And Mrs. E. A. Cobb. There was a large chicken farm there too, owned by Pringles.

There are many names of early Cheadle citizens to which there is no information, some of these being William and Harley Kidder, William Pue, Ainsley Mills, Max Meller, Frank Garvin, Joe Price, Miss Nickerson, Mrs. Smeaton, Miss H. E. Smith, L. J. Penati, Dave Smyth, Mrs. Ingersoll, Jim Byers, J. Pashak, Bert Huffman, Mrs. Standaspoe, Mrs. Harley, Mrs. Perry, John Taylor and Joe Komich. All of these surely contributed something to Cheadle's history.

Around 1985, Cheadle lost the last of its grain elevators as well as train and tracks that ran past. More houses and residents slowly started to fill the dusty roads and voids within the community. After the year 2000, another expansion of residental homes followed on the West side of Cheadle while some later developments followed on the East side after 2005. With many residents of Calgary looking to the smaller communities as a way of escaping the problems of large city living; Cheadle's population is expected to grow significantly in the coming years.