Gundy, Alberta facts for kids
Gundy is a small place in northern Alberta, Canada. It's located in the County of Grande Prairie No. 1, close to the border between British Columbia and Alberta. You can find it northeast of a town called Dawson Creek.
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The Story of Gundy
Gundy got its name from a man named H.W. Gundy. He was part of a real estate company in Toronto. In 1915, he bought a huge amount of land – about 35,000 acres – in this area. His plan was to sell it to new settlers who were moving to the region.
Early Plans and Challenges
H.W. Gundy hoped to sell his land to people looking for a new home. However, there was a lot of free land available through "homestead grants." This meant people could get land from the government for free if they promised to live on it and farm it. Because of this, not many people wanted to buy Gundy's land, which was also quite far away from other towns.
So, in 1922, Gundy and his partners started a cattle business called the Tate Creek Cattle Company. It was better known as the Gundy Ranch. They brought 1,000 cattle to the ranch. But the first winter was very harsh, and they lost 900 of their cattle. After this big loss, they sold most of their cattle, keeping only the land and buildings.
The Great Depression's Impact
In 1929, a major event called the stock market crash happened. This was a time when the value of company shares dropped very quickly, leading to a big economic problem known as the Great Depression. H.W. Gundy lost a lot of his money during this time. He could no longer pay the manager of the ranch, so the manager kept any profits the ranch made.
Community Grows in Gundy
Around the same time, more land north and east of the ranch became available for homesteading. This encouraged more people to move to the area. In 1932, the Gundy Post Office was opened. It was set up in the home of James Kellar, who lived on the British Columbia side of the border.
A few years later, in 1936, the Gundy Church was built. It was also located in British Columbia. However, the Gundy Cemetery, a place for burials, was set up just east of the church, but on the Alberta side of the border.
New Settlers: The Sudetens
The Gundy Ranch land eventually came under the ownership of the Canadian Colonization Association. This group was part of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, which helped people settle in Canada.
In 1939, about 500 people known as Sudetens came to live on the former Gundy Ranch land. The Sudetens were people from a region called Sudetenland, which was part of Czechoslovakia. They were against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi government in Germany. They had to leave their homes after Germany invaded Sudetenland, seeking safety and a new life in Canada.
