The dam in Ponoka, once the centre of the hustle and bustle of sawmills and railcars, has now been overtaken by a tranquil meadow.
An interpretive sign, a gazebo and benches will be installed at the dam site along the burbling Battle River where CPR steam locomotives trains once stopped to top up their water tanks.
The $20,000 project will benefit from a $10,000 heritage recognition program grant.
Only remnants of the almost 115-year-old Canadian Pacific Railway dam remain on the lazy river, just across the tracks from downtown and below the hill.
“The dam still exists,” said Ponoka CAO Brad Watson. “It’s in pretty tough shape.”
The project could be finished by fall.
“We want to get it done and get it in place,” Watson said.
As a part of the Trans Canada Trail system, the oldest existing structure in Ponoka, may be recognized eventually as a historic site.
Siding 14, as Ponoka was known before it was incorporated as a municipality, featured a sturdy wooden dam on the Battle River and a tall windmill on the top of the hill to pump the water up to a holding tank beside the track. This equipment would be used over the years to supply water to the powerful steam locomotives that rolled into the popular station, as well as assisting the town’s fire department to fight the countless fires that often occurred along the rows of wooden buildings.