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Wainwright Main Street Project


Wainwright Post Office

 A Threshold Many Have Crossed

Likely every person…

… who visits our town will some day pass through the doors of the Wainwright Post Office. Likely as not, few have not left their footprints in the snow somewhere in its surrounding park.

The story of this building’s history is buried somewhere, yet everyone has a story of their own to tell about this stately and stalwart landmark.

During the tragic months following the Great Fire, the building was one of very few structures overlooking the ruins.

The Federal Buidling, as it was then known, had been opened prematurely, "barely out of the hands of the contractor." (The Wainwright Star; July 24, 1929)

 

In light of the fire, then Postmaster, C. T. Lally was forced to quickly re-establish postal service in the new building after the original Post Office on Second Avenue had been claimed. Through Mr. Lally's diligent efforts to rescue the mail and other vital articles, postal service was able to continue without interruption. Letters could still be postmarked, "Wainwright." The town was at least able to cling to its presence, aye, its very identity in the eyes of mail recipients the world over. A strong assurance, indeed.

The post office, along with other critical lines of communication in conjunction with the local press, played a vital role during the re-construction of the destroyed business district. In the face of the calamity, and all that lay before them, the people of Wainwright were still able to receive and impart information; the community and all concerned were kept well informed of its needs and its progress. The vital importance of the nearly completed Federal Building could not have been foreseen, yet its presence and availability played a most significant role in keeping the heart of the community pumping in the chest of its maimed victim.

From its inception, the Federal Building bore the name of ‘Post Office’ in the minds and conversations of local area inhabitants. This has endured through to the present; doubtless, few townsfolk have any recall, or knowledge of the actual name and purpose of the building as it had originally been planned. The building housed all the Dominion Government departments and agencies operating in the area, including the offices of the Buffalo National Park management.

Recently the Post Office was selected to receive a special plaque to honor its significance in the history of Wainwright. Plans are underway to submit an application to the Province for Heritage Site designation, a distinction it has deserved from its beginnings.

The Post Office has been, and remains a true focal point of human endeavor and local activity as well as the portal of interaction with the world afar. The advent of commercial package express, of world-wide information sharing over the internet, and of rapid transportation and mobility has not diminished in the slightest this revered institution’s capacity and close connection to our community which it has always steadfastly maintained.

 The Bowtell Post Office Near Fabyan

In the days before…

…the Grand Trunk Pacific had steel and locomotives passing through this area, mail delivery was far less precipitous and could take weeks to travel from sender to recipient.

Much of the mail from points east was given to friends and relatives who were travelling west, either to visit or to settle. This was the method of choice, as national mail service was rather less reliable before the train arrived. Nonetheless, mail service did exist, and fell to the care of permanent homesteaders in places like Bowtell, Battleview, Dunn and Holmstead, to name just a few.

None of these places exist today, but when the province of Alberta was first born, they were the hub of their respective fledgling communities, and meager as they were, they were to homesteading families the strongest link to the outside world.

Bowtell Post Office ca. 1906
Bowtell Post Office, near Fabyan, Alberta ca. 1906

Pictured at right is the Bowtell Post Office, taken around 1906. It was operated by brothers Bruce and Fred Bowtell who were among the first to homestead in this region, which was then known as the “last great frontier.” Whether this is Bruce or Fred in the photo, is not clear, at present. Bowtell was about three kilometers east-north-east of present day Fabyan, nestled comfortably in the one of the most scenic stretches of the Battle River valley.

Further research is underway to learn more about postal service in our area. This story is far from complete in its present form, and will be updated in the weeks to come.

 

 Wainwright’s First Post Office

Wainwright Post Office ca. 1910
First Wainwright Post Office ca. 1910

The original townsite of Denwood, some five kilometers east-south-east of Wainwright, opened its first post office on August 1, 1907. The inhabitants and entrepreneurs of this urban settlement were agreed upon the common anticipation that theirs would be a destination point for the incoming railroad, and they wasted no time setting up shop. Alas, their hopes were dashed, but for the time, Denwood was the hot spot in the newly settled plains.

Frank Bowtell was Denwood’s first and last postmaster. He served in this capacity from 1907 until the settlement’s relocation the following year.

Postal service was transferred to Wainwright, effective June 1, 1908, with Frank still at the wicket, which post he maintained until early 1909, whereupon he resigned. He was succeeded by Norman Culpe who served until the Dominion Government changed hands late in 1911; and by Herbert W. McLeod, who resigned in 1923.

 

The original buidling was located on the north side of Second Avenue, west of the present day Town Clock. It stood watch over the busiest street in town until burning down in the Great Fire of July 21, 1929, fortuitously in the charge of postmaster Conrad Tolendal Lally, fourth person to hold this position, and loyal to the community he served until his death in 1941.

Frank’s brother, Fred, was the first mail carrier to venture between Vermilion and Wainwright. To pick up the mail Fred Bowtell would often make the week long trek on foot. So early is this in the region’s history, he must certainly have stepped in the very footprints of the earliest European land guides. These trails brought the first homesteaders 50 miles south into the Battle River watershed from the Northern Pacific Railway at Mannville and Vermillion. They must easily have served also to transport the mails whence settlement had commenced.

The dependency on the rail connection at Vermilion was soon removed once rail transport was officially established at Wainwright. By late 1909 trains were moving between Winnipeg and Edmonton, and regular, reliable mail service in both directions was made possible. The trains have never stopped since that day, and neither has the post.