Special Places in the Special Areas

The three most recent Municipal Historic Resources listed on the Alberta Register of Historic Places are in the Special Areas. The three Special Areas form a unique municipality. Located in southeastern Alberta, the 2.1 million hectare municipality is administered by a provincially appointed board. The sites are:

• The St. Laurence Anglican Church, which was built in the Hamlet of Monitor in 1915. This wood-framed church is valued for its use as an Anglican Church and its association with the foundation and development of the local community.
• The Roland School, a one room school located south of the Village of Consort. The community values it for its use, first as a public school between 1913 and 1933 and subsequently as a community hall.
• The New Brigden Water Tower, which was constructed by the Canadian National Railway in 1925 as the company installed a branch line through the area. The tower is valued for being a landmark in the Hamlet of New Brigden.

The Historical Resources Act enables Alberta’s municipalities to conserve their significant places. By designating a site a Municipal Historic Resource, municipalities can protect their special places from unsympathetic alterations. Since 2006, when the Municipal Heritage Partnership Program was established, Alberta’s municipalities have designated almost a hundred Municipal Historic Resources. The variety of historic places that our communities are preserving illustrates the variety of ways Albertans have lived their lives.

The above three sites are just a small sample of the 165 Municipal Historic Resources currently listed on the Alberta Register of Historic Places. We encourage you to explore the register to learn more about Alberta’s provincially and municipally designated historic places. Perhaps one of the listings will inspire you to look at a place in your community in a new way.

Written by: Micheal Thome, Municipal Heritage Services Officer