Our Ponoka and vibrant surrounding districts have been blessed with a very long and colorful history, much of which has thankfully been preserved at our Fort Ostell Museum, in magnificent history books and in many buildings and sights around our bustling community. The energetic Main Street Project was approved and promoted by the Ponoka Town Council and local citizens from 1997 to 2000 and would identify over 50 of our earliest historical treasures and artifacts.
This exciting program provided some funding to encourage owners of longstanding local businesses and buildings to upgrade and revitalize their premises and store fronts to feature some of the original architectural designs, facades and signage from the early beginnings of our great town. The promotion, which brought back the first Chipman Avenue and honoured the Provincial Mental Hospital, also provided permanent information plaques, as well as acknowledging our early pioneer families, and proudly presenting our long and colorful history for all to see.
The CPR dam
The first Canadian Pacific Railway train crept into an undeveloped village site in June 1891 and stopped to unload their crews, tools, track and ties at what they had simply named ‘Siding 14’, located near the halfway point of their new Edmonton to Calgary line. The solitary red wooden railway depot with the long loading platform would be first inhabited by the section crew and caretaker, but over the next very hectic few years would welcome a station agent and a local dray service that would greet and serve up to three noisy passenger and freight trains each day to the bustling new Town of Ponoka.
Among the first meagre structures built at the sight was a squat octagonal wooden tower and tall wooden windmill, which pumped water from the deep reservoir created by a huge dam that had been constructed of logs across the Battle River. This vital supply point at Ponoka for the fast growing 24-hour schedule of massive steam locomotives along the Edmonton/Calgary line also brought a steady supply of freight, mail, and passengers into an exciting new rhythm of growth and activity for our vibrant new family friendly community.
The classic windmill and water tower at end of Chipman Avenue also supplied the water to a nearby hydrant used by the local volunteer fire brigade to douse the many fires that popped up often in the new wooden buildings. Along with the dam, the tower and the windmill became a community landmark until the 1950s when the CPR converted to diesel and they became obsolete.
In the earliest years, the sturdy CPR dam on the Battle River became a focal point of constant daily activity in the growing new Town of Ponoka. The structure supported a broad spillway and two piers were built with booms in between, while the thousands of logs from Pigeon Lake were floated through Pigeon Creek and into the Battle River. When they reached the dam, the booms were opened and the logs went down the chutes to the Rowley’s, Cook’s, and Zulky’s Mills downstream, with others held for the Loewan Mill, which was located on the east side of the east bank of the reservoir. These huge mills employed up to 20 men and for many years turned out the millions of square feet of lumber that was required to fill the sudden ‘building boom’ in the rapidly developing Ponoka Town and County districts.
The grand old dam was always teeming with jackfish and suckers trapped in the reservoir, which made for great fishing and were often hauled away by the wagon loads to be used as livestock feed. I so fondly remember as a youngster spending hours fishing with buddies at the Ponoka dam, then stuffing them into a plastic bag and dashing up to try sell them at the local restaurants to the highest bidder. The picturesque area was always great for a refreshing summer swim (often skinny dipping), for a picnic, or just a great place to hang out and watch the trains go by. Unfortunately today only a few old timbers are the only reminder of this great 115-year-old dam, but the countless favourite memories and it’s vital importance to the early growth and successes of the Ponoka area will always remain.