The little town that was

World Class – Calgary

The railway came in 1883 – ranchers poured in from across Canada 4,000, Calgary was officially proclaimed a city the next year with 40 thousand people.

By 1912, it had a reliable supply of natural gas, it had a street railway, it had a vaudeville house and a 1500 seat, first class theatre, the Sherman Grand.

At the peak of the surge in 1912, with 47,000 people living in Calgary, something happened that was destined to out last the Sandstone.

Guy Weadick talked four of the most powerful men from the Calgary area into financially backing an experiment called the Calgary Stampede. “The Big Four”, Pat Burns, Archie McLean, George Lane and A.E. Cross, planted the seeds of what was to grow into the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth.

source: InCalgary.com