Description
This Calder neighbourhood park has an area of 1.73 ha. The early development of Calder is linked to
the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
(GT&P), which arrived in Edmonton in 1909. After
connecting the railway to Edmonton, the GT&P
located its roundhouse and railway yards in the area.
In July 1910, the village of West Edmonton was
established. Many GT&P employees settled there and
the village became known as a railway colony. In 1913
the City of Edmonton annexed the land surrounding
the village of West Edmonton and a few years later, in
1917, annexed West Edmonton itself.
The Calder Land Company, a real-estate firm
owned by Hugh Alfred Calder and J.R. McIntosh,
began to subdivide the area around 1910. The land was
originally settled by the McRoberts family. Hugh
Alfred Calder (1872-1964) arrived in Strathcona in
1902 and became a partner in the Calder Land
Company in 1907. He went on to serve as a city
alderman, first for Strathcona and then Edmonton
after amalgamation, from 1908 to 1916. After serving
in WWI, Major Calder returned to the Edmonton area
and took up farming.
Although some of Calder’s houses were pre-1910,
most were built after WWII. Generally, newer struc-
tures are located in the northern portion of the
neighbourhood while older structures are located in
the vicinity of the Calder Railway Yards. The present day Calder neighbourhood includes the former village
of West Edmonton (west of 120 Street) and Elm Park
(east of 120 Street). The Elm Park subdivision was
established around 1907 and became part of the city of Edmonton in 1913.
Feature Type
Neighbourhood
Designation Year
1910