On this day in 1945, the town of Beverly was considering whether to join Edmonton.
European settlers first moved to the area northeast of Edmonton in the early 1880s, drawn by the promise of good soil and cheap land, perfect for farming. But it was what lay beneath that soil that would soon shape Beverly's history.
There were coal deposits throughout the river valley, but the largest was the Clover Bar seam, which ran right underneath Beverly, and produced an estimated 95% of the area's coal. Tiny coal mining operations, like William Humberstone's first mine, started popping up.
People began calling the growing settlement Beverly around 1904. In 1907, the Grand Trunk Railway built the Clover Bar bridge across the river, connecting the area's coal industry to the rail network, which encouraged even more mining.
The tiny hamlet was growing rapidly. In 1913, Beverly was incorporated as a village, and just a year later, it became a full-fledged town. That ascension led to the construction of Beverly's first official building, a town hall designed by Allen Merrick Jeffers, who also designed Alberta's Legislature Building.
The two-storey brick building served not only as a town hall but also as a fire station, police station, elementary school, and dance hall. Emily Murphy, one of the Famous Five, worked out of the building in her role as justice of the peace.
The Great Depression hit Beverly hard. By the late 1930s the town was on the brink of bankruptcy. The Alberta government appointed an administrator to oversee the town and this oversight remained for more than a decade.
The 1950s and '60s saw a significant shift in the town's direction. Coal was no longer in high demand. Housing was. The boom that followed the end of the Second World War, combined with Beverly's lower land prices, made the community an attractive place to live that was close to the city. Beverly's population expanded. In 1951, the town had 2,150 residents; a decade later, the population had more than quadrupled. That growth brought expenses for infrastructure and services, which the town struggled to cover. Debt from previous decades only made the situation more difficult.
In 1961, Beverly residents voted in a referendum on whether to amalgamate with Edmonton. More than 60% of those who voted supported the idea. On Dec. 30 of that year, Beverly officially became part of the city. What was once the town of Beverly is now split into five neighbourhoods: Beverly Heights, Abbottsfield, Beacon Heights, Rundle Heights, and Bergman.
Coal mining played a significant role in shaping the early years of both Beverly and Edmonton. While it may not have the prominence it once had, coal remains a major issue in Alberta. Earlier this year, the provincial government lifted its moratorium on new coal mine development in the eastern Rocky Mountains, sparking controversy and protests.
This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist Rev Recluse of Vintage Edmonton.