History
Celebrating Airdrie's History
In a landscape shaped by Chinook winds and Nose Creek, a city celebrates 100 years of history built on a pioneer spirit, community pride and opportunity for the future. 
Pioneer Spirit
The pioneer spirit defined early settlement in western Canada. Homesteaders headed west in search of fertile lands for farming and new opportunities. Settlers experienced many hardships and struggles, but persevered in their quest for a better way of life.
Pioneer spirit shaped Airdrie's story. Settlers to the area relied on their own resourcefulness and hard work to create not just a place to live, but a community in which to watch their children grow.
Community Pride
Airdrie's people make the city a great place to live, work and play. Whether a fifth-generation resident or a new arrival, young or old, Airdrie's mix of residents have created a vibrant and friendly city in which they can be proud. People have contributed to the community in countless ways. The city is known for its volunteerism. People donate their time to many causes, including those related to youth, seniors, sports, arts and culture, the disadvantaged, local events and city beautification. What unifies all volunteers is their commitment to make a difference in the city. The dedication of local volunteers is just one way that a growing city of 30,000 people maintains such a strong sense of community pride.
Opportunity for the Future
In just 100 years, Airdrie has gone from a dusty village to one of Canada's fastest growing cities. Airdrie's next 100 years are sure to be just as impressive as more people and businesses begin to call Airdrie home. What makes Airdrie's future so exciting is that innovative environmental programs and projects are putting the city on a path to sustainability. The future is filed with a feeling of opportunity and optimism balanced with a respect for the environment.
Airdrie in the early day
While Airdrie was declared a village on September 10, 1909, its story actually began in the 1870s. At this time, American-born trader, sheep rancher and freighter Addison McPherson became one of the first people to settle near Airdrie, in the area known today as McPherson Coulee. In 1883, McPherson, along with John Coleman, began running the mail by stagecoach on the Calgary to Edmonton Trail.
In 1890, business partners Herbert Holt, William Mackenzie, Donald Mann and James Ross formed the Calgary and Edmonton Railway Company. In July of that same year, construction began on the railway in Calgary, reaching Edmonton (Strathcona) by the following summer. The future site of Airdrie made an ideal stopping point for the trains to take on water to run the steam engines. With a low alkali (salt) content, the waters of Nose Creek provided thirsty steam trains with a much-needed drink.
Settlements soon began to spring up around the sidings and stations along the railway line. Airdrie's first buildings were constructed as a means to support the upkeep of the railway. These included a station, a section house, a windmill and a water tank. Railway maintenance workers lived and worked in the section house. These workers became Airdrie's first residents.
The Hamlet of Airdrie
Firmly established by the spring of 1901, the roots for the hamlet of Airdrie had taken hold when the Province of Alberta was still a vast land called the North West Territories, District of Alberta.
Arriving in 1901, homesteaders A.E. Bowers and his brother-in-law W.H. Croxford were Airdrie's first true settlers. They constructed Airdrie's first buildings including a barn and family homes. A.E. Bowers also built a small general store and post office on the north side of his house. Very quickly, more settlers arrived and Airdrie soon found itself offering complete community services: a general store, post office, church, school, hardware store, grain elevator, restaurant, blacksmith and hotel.
The railway continued to sustain the growing hamlet by transporting not only people, but grain, cattle, coal and supplies. Residents also received their mail by rail; mailbags were tossed from the train as it passed through the hamlet. A poor throw could result in residents receiving a soggy batch of mail!
Airdrie becomes a Village
With a growing number of people, shops and homes, Airdrie had become more than a stopping point for the railway; it had become a settlement with a true sense of place.
Efforts to become registered as a village began December 23, 1908. After 9 months of paperwork between the provincial government and the hamlet, the Village of Airdrie was born September 10, 1909—a significant birth date and cause for celebration.
