Historic Attractions

The Buffalo Statue
The Town Clock
Petroleum Park
Bud Cotton Paddock
Suzie The Softball
Poundmaker
Battle River Trestle
Koroluk Landslide

The Buffalo Statue

‘Canada’s largest buffalo statue’

The statue was built by Hyko Hespe in 1965 of fiberglass and concrete standing 10 feet in height, unveiled June 23rd by Bud Cotton, Wainwright Buffalo Park Warden (1912 - 1940). A project of the Chamber of Commerce it serves as a reminder of the pioneer days, in memory of the magnificent once endangered bison and a warning of the results of exploitation. The buffalo remains the official emblem of Wainwright, symbolizing the tremendous drive that is propelling the community to new heights of prosperity.

Photo at right courtesy of Kelly Clemmer

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The Town Clock

‘The only known free standing clock tower in Canada’

Memorial Clock 13 September 1925 W.W. Carsell photo

The Clock Tower, situated at the main intersection of downtown at the corner of Main Street and Second Avenue, occupies a commanding position, was built in 1925 as a memorial dedicated to the soldiers recruited from this area who lost their lives in the First World War. Later, the monument also became a memorial for those who were lost in the Second World War.

This cenotaph was commissioned by the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire and was designed and constructed by local stonemason, Frank Baily took two years to complete at a cost of $3500. The shaft is built of Alberta native granite from fieldstones collected by school children and farmers and although not ornate its simple roman lines raised from a double platform of concrete held the clock some 35 feet above the roadway. The timepiece with its four clock dials that was installed into this cenotaph came from England running on batteries until Main Street was paved in 1958 - 1959, when it was changed to electric.

In the great fire of 1929, the worst in the history of small town Alberta when 70 businesses and 8 homes were totally destroyed, the clock tower was the only structure in the area to remain standing, creating an eerie vision of hope.

Related to this topic…
Through 75 Years and Beyond by Erika Foley
Memorial Clock Tower

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Petroleum Park

View original oil well equipment used in the Wainwright field.

Drilling of the first oil well in the Wainwright area was begun December 13, 1921, when Imperial Oil Ltd. began drilling 6 miles west of Wainwright on the banks of the Battle River. This well “blew in” on April 26, 1922, with oil and gas shooting to the top of the 120-foot derrick.

British Petroleum Oil Co. began drilling on November 1, 1922 on subdivision 1, 36-445-7 W4. This well came in on April 23, 1923.

The Wainwright Oil Development Co. began drilling June 28, 1922 on land immediately adjoining Wainwright’s west side, subdivision 15, 36-44-7 W4.

These first few wells were not large producers, but some of them led to the development of the gas fields west of Wainwright.

British Petroleum well #2, drilled 5 miles north of Wainwright came in November of 1923 with a flow of over 100 barrels per day. At the time this well was thought to be one of the largest producers of oil in Western Canada.

The Kling-Del Refinery was built in 1926 in the oil field north of Wainwright. Other small refineries also sprung up about this time.

The gold standard refinery was in operation by 1940 on the west edge of town. After going through several name changes, it was bought by Husky Oil in the 1960’s.

More on… Wainwright Oil Wells.

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Bud Cotton Buffalo Paddock

Camp Wainwright’s buffalo herd serves as a reminder that the land now in possession of the Department of National Defense was once the original Buffalo National Park.

By the early 1890’s the plains buffalo (also known as Bison) had all but disappeared from the prairies because of over hunting.

After the turn of the century, the Hon. Frank Oliver, Minister of the interior for Canada can be credited with the decision to save the buffalo from extinction. In 1908, the government created Buffalo Park on 234 square miles of land adjacent to Wainwright; the area was fenced and stocked the area with several hundred head of buffalo purchased from two Montana ranchers, Michel Pablo and C.A. Allard. Under protection, the herd grew to such an extent that annual round-ups began in 1921, shipping some animals to various parts of the world and slaughtering other for food. In 1923 the Hollywood movie “The Last Frontier” was filmed at Wainwright using the buffalo in the park as well as the Park Riders as stunt men and extras.

The round-ups continued until 1940 when all the buffalo were removed and the park was turned over to the Department of national Defense (DND) for use as an army training facility. By that time over 48,000 head of buffalo were produced in the park. Today the DND maintains the “Bud Cotton Buffalo Paddock” which houses approximately 20 buffalo as a reminder of the history of the park.