History

Consort was named during the Coronation year and was named after royalty. Before the railway arrived in the village there were several large ranches in the area. Goods were shipped from Castor and Hardisty. The Canadian Pacific completed the railway to Consort in 1912 at which time there was a large influx of homesteaders. During the winter of 1906-07, the ranchers were practically wiped out as the majority of the cattle died or were frozen to death.

The first school in the area was located at Sanderville, 1 1/2 miles from the present Village. The first teacher was Mr. A. Polson. AGT installed a telephone exchange at Consort in 1914, serving 17 subscribers. By 1921, the Consort exchange had 38 local and 47 rural telephone subscribers. In 1966, the Consort exchange was cut over to dial service, with a total of 250 lines.

Consort Electric first supplied power to the village in 1932 from a diesel unit and later sold out to Canadian Utilities Limited. Water and sewer services were installed in 1954 and natural gas in 1958 by Northwestern Utilities Limited.

The Royal Bank was built in 1921/22, and the first bank manager was Allen Stockman, formerly a bank clerk of the old Union Bank of Canada. In 1968, the new Royal Bank building was constructed, and the old Royal Bank building became the Village Office. In 1995, the Village Office was moved, and the building became the present site of the Consort & District Museum. Large parts of the town were wiped out in two separate fires - one in 1936 and another in 1938.

Located 15 miles north of the Village is a colorful range of hills known as the Neutral Hills. Well substantiated stories indicate the name was derived from the fact that this area was set aside as a hunting preserve by the Plains Indians and no fighting or marauding was allowed in the area.

Indian folklore tells that "the hills were raised by the Great Spirit to keep two warring tribes from coming together. According to the legend, the Indian Scouts were greatly amazed to see the row of hills suddenly appear with abundant food, berries and water for all. They followed the hills along to the Little Gap, there held a great Council, made peace and buried their hatchets."

Big Gap Roundup 1913 to 1919
In 1919 it was estimated that over 12,000 people showed up for this event including the AB Premier, Charles Stewart and the Mayor of Edmonton and Chief White Elk. The big attraction was the Wild West Plays and Re-enactments of historical events like the lives of Billy the Kid & Louis Riel & Sitting Bull. The event became too successful and after the 08 Ranch was sold in 1919, it stopped. (Big Gap is about 15 miles north west of Consort and a few miles west of Little Gap.)

There are many cairns marking historical sites in the area, such as the NWMP Barracks at Sounding Lake, and history is preserved in the Consort Museum and the Sortland Museum (15 miles north of Consort).

Horse Racing was a big event in the early years of Consort. This image shows the Consort Sports Grounds and how it was in the early 1950's. During a July 1st Sports Day the 2 booths on the right would be open. The lower booth would be covered with poplar tree branches for shade and was used for the 'games' of chance'. Ball throwing at aluminum bottles and darts at balloons, trying to win small prizes. And of course the Poker Wheel of chance. The other booth was run by the Church Ladies and was for food.

Inquiries regarding the history of Consort and it's settlers can be directed to grobinson@xplornet.com