Yellowhead County Heritage Program

08/19/2026

Join Yellowhead County Heritage Program and local historian Ken Groat for a presentation on the history of the Athabasca Valley, on September 5th at 1:30pm at the Red Brick Arts Centre in Edson! The event is free, but registration is required.

Register at yhcounty.ca/registration or call 780-325-3782.

07/05/2026

Tonight, we proudly celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Legion at the Cadomin Legion Branch 124 and reflect on what Legions truly mean to the communities they serve.

Legions are so much more than just buildings. They are places where people gather to connect, share stories, honour those who served, support one another, and take pride in their community. They have long been an integral part of community life.

As the Heritage Program celebrates 100 years of the Cadomin Legion Branch 124, the highest-elevation Legion in Canada, we're also celebrating the remarkable history of the building itself.

The earliest known mention of the Cadomin Legion appears in a December 1926 Edmonton Journal obituary, noting that the Cadomin Legion had sent flowers for a local funeral, a reminder that the Legion has been supporting its community since its earliest days.

Before it became the Legion we know today, the building served as Cadomin's school. Grades 1–4 learned on one side, while Grades 6–8 occupied the other, with just two teachers guiding the students. There was no dedicated playground, during recess, the whole town became the schoolyard.

Over the decades, these walls have witnessed weddings, funerals, pig roasts, dances, celebrations, and countless community gatherings. They have adapted and evolved alongside Cadomin, and they continue to be a place where memories are made.

Do you have memories of the Cadomin Legion? We'd love to hear them. Share your stories, photos, and favourite moments in the comments below and help us celebrate a century of community.

06/15/2026

What a celebration!

Over 100 people came to celebrate the dedication at the Municipal Historic Resource All Saints Anglican Church and Hattonford Cemetery. The day was filled with laughter, happy tears, hugs and many great memories.

A service was held in the church for the first time since 2005, complete with singing of a hymn.

A big thank you to the volunteers of the Beaver Meadow & District Agricultural Society who have championed the preservation of these sites. Here's to the next hundred years!

06/06/2026

A meaningful new addition is coming to Mountain Park Cemetery.

This summer, Yellowhead County crews will be returning to the cemetery to reconstruct fences, restore grave markers, and complete installation of a truly special feature: a wind phone. Once installed, it is expected to be the highest-elevation wind phone in the world.

A wind phone is a disconnected telephone placed in a quiet, reflective setting, offering visitors a space to speak to loved ones who have passed away. Though the phone is not connected to any network, it provides a powerful way to express thoughts, memories, and emotions, carried only by the wind.

As restoration work continues throughout the season, this unique addition will create a place of comfort, remembrance, and connection for all who visit Mountain Park Cemetery.

While work is happening this summer, please be respectful of the area as we slowly work through the restoration process.

06/02/2026

Explore your YC this summer!

The Heritage Program's popular bus tour series is back for 2026!

Three tours are available
East End: July 11
South End (Coal Branch): July 19
West End: August 8

Tickets are $40 and include lunch.

Online registration for all three tours goes live this Thursday, June 4th, at 12am. Register early as spaces fill up quickly!

For more information and to register visit--->
yhcounty.ca/registration

05/22/2026

History, art, and community came together in a special way through the Legacy Links program! 🎨🚂❤️

Yellowhead County FCSS Children/Youth, Family & Community Programs and the Yellowhead County Heritage Program recently partnered on a new Legacy Links project, bringing together students from Grand Trunk High School and seniors from Sunshine Place Lodge in Evansburg. Together, they created a beautiful paint-by-number mural made up of 40 individual tiles, painted by both students and seniors.

More than 50 people helped bring this artwork to life, and the completed mural is now proudly displayed at Sunshine Place Lodge!

The mural features an important piece of Evansburg’s railway history, the old Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) station.

When the CNoR arrived in Evansburg in the early 1910s, the community was still very small, with only a few streets and buildings. Unlike many towns in Yellowhead County, Evansburg’s streets were originally surveyed by the mining company rather than the railway. The railway followed the easiest route to build, running northeast to southwest through the area, and a large station was constructed in anticipation of the booming mining town’s future growth.

Meanwhile, just south of town, the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway (GTPR) had already established its own rail line and spur to the mine site. Their Evansburg station was much smaller, as nearby Entwistle served as the GTPR’s main regional hub.

Following the First World War, both railways became part of the newly formed Canadian National Railway. Eventually, the CNoR line was abandoned, leaving the impressive station without a railway connection. Nearly a decade later, the station was moved and repurposed to replace the smaller GTPR station in Evansburg.

Even today, traces of this railway history remain part of the community. The former CNoR railbed became the foundation for 49th Avenue, and the old GTPR spur line can still be spotted when driving into Evansburg on Range Road 75.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this meaningful intergenerational project that helped preserve and celebrate local history!

04/20/2026

Wow! What a turn out!

Ken Groat presented to over 120 people on Sunday at the Brule Hall with attendees coming as far as Fort Saskatchewan for the event.

We've had many requests to record Ken's presentation-which we did! Stay tuned for an upcoming post in the coming weeks for the full presentation.

This is such a great example of how our heritage can bring people together.

04/01/2026

Coming soon! We are very excited to hear Ken Groat's presentation on the history of the Athabasca River Valley.

History Through the Athabasca Valley

Join Brule resident Ken Groat for a historical talk on the Athabasca Valley since the 1700s.

The talk is presented by the Yellowhead County Heritage Program and will be held at the Brule Hall on April 19 from 1:30pm to 3:30pm.

02/02/2026

🏛️ We’re hiring a Heritage Programmer!
Reporting to the Heritage Coordinator, this role supports the update of our municipality’s Heritage Management Plan and helps bring local history to life. The Heritage Programmer works with the community to document, promote, and support recognition of heritage sites across the municipality.

Based out of the Wildwood office, this position supports the Heritage Program as a whole, with a primary focus on updating and enhancing our Heritage Sites.

If you’re passionate about local history and community storytelling, this role might be for you!

11/06/2025

In the early afternoon, the Heritage Program joined Mr. Birkenshaw’s Grade 6 class from Crescent Valley School in Hinton, along with representatives from the Hinton Royal Canadian Legion 249 and RCMP, at the Brule Mines Cemetery. Two World War I veterans were honoured as part of the No Stone Left Alone Memorial Foundation memorial.

Later that evening, the Heritage Program travelled across the County to the Evansburg Cemetery, where the Evansburg Legion Branch 196 and the 3070 Evansburg Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps placed maple leaves on the graves of veterans laid to rest there.

A heartfelt thank you to all who took part in remembering those who served. Lest we forget. ❤️🍁