During the 1880's political opposition to the practice
of plural marriage by members of the Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-Day Saints in the United States inten-
sified. The passage of the Edmunds Act in 1882 provided
for fines and jail terms for persons convicted of prac-
ticing polygamy. Consequently many members of the
Church went into hiding or sought places of refuge out-
side of the United States.

Charles Ora Card was among those who intended to
go to Mexico in order to escape the mounting an-
tipolygamy prosecution, but he was advised by President
John Taylor to make an exploratory trip into Canada to
seek a place of "asylum and justice". In accordance with
these instructions President Card (then president of the
Cache Stake) departed for Canada on September 4, 1886
accompanied by .lames W. Hendricks and Isaac E. D.
Zundell. They travelled through the central portion of
British Columbia as far north as Kamloops and con-
cluded that sufficient land was not available in that area
of Canada. They then crossed the mountains to explore
the land Iying between Calgary and the International
Boundary to the south.

They were particularly impressed with the land Iying
between the Kootenai (Waterton) and Belly Rivers, adja-
cent to the Blood Indian Reserve. After prayerful con-
sideration they concluded that this area would be an ideal
place for a settlement. On October 24, 1886 they
dedicated the land "for the benefit of Israel, both red and
white", and then departed for their homes in the United
States.

Charles Ora Card reported to President Taylor who
confirmed the decision to locate a settlement in Southern
Alberta (then known as the Northwest territories) and
authorized President Card to select families from the
Cache and Box Elder Stakes to settle in the new country
the following spring. Although President Card had per-
suaded 41 families to accompany him back to Canada, as
the spring of 1887 approached, many changed their
minds and only ten families decided to make the trip.

A vangard group consisting of Charles Ora Card,
Thomas T. Smith, Niels Monson and Thomas Ricks
travelled back to southern Alberta in the spring of 1887,
arriving in Canada on April 16. Unable to secure land
between the Kootenai and Belly Rivers as they had
originally hoped, the group turned their attention to the
Lee's Creek area south of the Blood Reserve. Acting on
the advice of two local ranchers, Barker and Donovan,
President Card decided to locate the settlement on Lee's
Creek, about two miles upstream from where it entered
the St. Mary's River.

The first of the main body of settlers arrived at the
Lee's Creek settlement May 1. Over the next several
weeks others came to swell the ranks of the new colony.
At this time many of the settlers felt that their stay in
Canada would be temporary and that they would return
to their homes in the United States when the political
climate had improved. In fact, one of the settlers
knowingly built a house on a surveyed roadway.

The first sacrament meeting in the Lee's Creek settle-
ment was held on Sunday, June 5, 1887. The 14 by 16
foot tent of Josiah Hammer served as the meeting place.
The pulpit was a packing case, with boxes, kegs and bags
of oats serving as seats for the congregation. During the
ensuing week a bowery was built of boughs from willow
and poplar trees under which future meetings were held.
On June 12, President Card organized a Sunday School
with J. E. Layne as superintendent and John A. Woolf
and E. R. Miles as assistants. Sterling Williams was
selected as secretary.

John A. Woolf was called to act as president of the
Lee's Creek Branch of the Cache Stake. The bowery, and
later various cabins, served as a meeting place until a
chapel could be erected. Early in November 1887, Presi-
dent Card called a special meeting to discuss the building
of a meeting house. Approval was given to his proposal
and the men of the community went to work building a
20 foot square log structure. The first meeting was held in
this building January 29, 1888 and it was dedicated
February 2. This building served as a chapel, school
house and a place for community entertainment.

Although the saints were faced with the urgency of
providing adequate food and shelter for the coming
winter, President Card wasted little time in seeing that
the various church auxiliary programs were organized
and functioning in the new branch. The Young Men's
Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA) was
organized October 16, 1887 with LeGrand Robinson as
president and J. W. Woolf and O. E. Bates as first and se-
cond assistants. On November 20 of the following month
both the Primary Association and the Relief Society
were organized. Sarah Daines with counsellors Sena
Matkin and Mary Elizabeth Farrell were called to lead
the Primary Association. Annie Daines was called to act
as secretary. Mary L. Woolf was chosen to be the Relief
Society President. Her counsellors were Anna M. Layne
and Mary A. Roberts. The first Relief Society meeting
was held in the Woolf cabin on December 1. The Young
Women's Mutual Improvement Association (YWMIA)
was organized November 22 with Zina Y. Card as presi-
dent and Annie Cheney and Barbara Ammussen as
assistants. The secretary was Jane E. Woolf.

Apostles Francis M. Lyman and John W. Taylor
visited the Lee's Creek settlement during the fall of 1888.
A conference was held and the Lee's Creek Branch was
organized as the Card Ward of the Cache Stake. John A.
Woolf was ordained as the bishop. A new log chapel was
erected during the following winter in order to accom-
modate the growing congregation.

During November 1889 the First Presidency of the
Church; Wilford Woodruff, Joseph F. Smith and George
Q. Cannon, accompanied by Brigham Young Jr., presi-
dent of the Quorum of the Twelve, visited the Card Ward
and held a special conference with the saints. It was at
this conference that the name of the ward and the settle-
ment was changed to "Cardston".

The Cardston Ward continued to function as a unit of
the Cache Stake until August 3, 1890 at which time a
Canadian Mission was organized and Cardston became
the headquarters of this mission. President Card was
released as president of the Cache Stake and appointed
as President of the new mission.

The general authorities visited the area regularly and
the ward continued to grow as more settlers arrived to
take up homesteads. This growth necessitated the forma-
tion of two additional wards in 1893. On December 11 of
that year the Aetna Ward was organized and on
December 24 the Mountain View Ward was formed. By
the fall of 1894 the population of the three wards totalled
674 persons, 258 of whom were children under eight
years of age.

On April 10, 1895 the Alberta Stake was organized.
Charles Ora Card was sustained as the president with
John A. Woolf and Sterling Williams as counsellors. The
High Council consisted of James May, Johannes Ander-
son, Johnathan Layne, Simeon F. Allen, Niels Hansen,
Ephraim Harker, Oliver C. Robinson, Samuel Matkin,
Mark E. Beazer, Hyrum W. Taylor, James Quinton and
Robert Leishman.

By this time the influence of the church was being felt
in the economic development of the whole of southern
Alberta. A cooperative had been established in Cardston
in 1888 with stockholders from among the church
members. This company grew to include a store, sawmill,
cheese factory, flour mill, butcher shop, farm implement
business, an ice business and a glove and shoe factory. As
the incoming settlers homesteaded more of the land in
the outlying areas around Cardston several small hamlets
and villages were established. Several small-scale irriga-
tion projects were started throughout the district and in
1898 the Church undertook a contract to build an irriga-
tion canal from the St. Mary's River south of Cardston
to the site of the present town of Stirling, Alberta. This
project, directed by President Card, provided much
needed land and money for the ever increasing influx of
Mormon settlers and led to the establishment of the
towns of Magrath, Raymond and Stirling.

President Card served as Stake President until
August 31, 1902 at which time Heber S. Allen was called
to the position. A division of the Alberta Stake in 1903
created the Taylor Stake. Pres. Allen was called to
preside over the new stake and Edward J. Wood was
called to lead the Alberta Stake.

Serving in this position for 39 years, President Wood
gained the love and respect of members and non-
members alike. His concern was not only for the spiritual
welfare of the saints, but for their temporal welfare as
well. He advised his people on what and when to plant
and led the Stake in special fasts when adverse weather
conditions threatened the crops. Acting for the Church he
arranged the purchase in 1906 of the 66,500 acre Cochran
Ranch and encouraged Latter-Day Saint settlers to
locate on the new purchase. This resulted in the establish-
ment of the Glenwood, Hillspring and Hartley Wards.
He encouraged and supported the development of irriga-
tion projects throughout the stake and assisted in the es-
tablishment of several businesses so that more people
could earn a living. Under his capable leadership the
stake continued to grow, a temple was erected and the
Alberta Stake weathered a trying period of economic
depression and drought.

President Wood was released as Stake President in
1942 and Willard L. Smith was called to serve in his
stead. In 1948 President Smith was called to serve as
president of the Alberta Temple and Gordon Brewerton
became president of the Alberta Stake.

The continued increase in church membership
throughout the stake over the years required the forma-
tion of additional wards and branches. The Leavitt Ward
was organized in 1896 and in 1898 the Mountain View
Ward was divided forming the Caldwell Ward. In 1900
the Beazer, Kimball and Taylorville Wards were
organized. The Woolford Branch was formed in 1906 and
became a ward in 1913. In order to serve the needs of
church members who had settled on the land purchased
from the Cochrane Ranch, the Glenwood Ward was
organized in 1909 and the Hillspring Ward in 1910. In
1914 the original Cardston Ward was divided, forming
the Cardston First and Second Wards. The western half
of town was designated as the First Ward and the eastern
half (the original settlement area) as the Second Ward.
The Del Bonita Branch was organized as a dependent
branch of the Taylorville Ward in 1916 and became an
independent branch in 1922. The Hartley Branch was
organized in 1928 and became a Ward in 1937. In 1933
the Pershing Branch was organized but became part of
the Jefferson Branch when that unit was organized in
1948. The Cardston Third and Fourth Wards were
created in 1946 from divisions of the First and Second
Wards. The Caldwell Ward was discontinued in 1910 and
the Kimball Ward in 1948.

Those who have served as bishops or branch
presidents of the various units, and the year of their ap-
pointments, are as follows:

Cardston First Ward-John A. Woolf 1887, Josiah
Hammer 1895, Dennison E. Harris 1908,JamesThomas
Brown 1911, Charles W. Burt 1918, Gustave Nielson
1928, N. Eldon Tanner 1933, William W. Burt 1935,
Heber J. Matkin 1939, J. Forest Wood 1942.

Cardston Second Ward-Thomas W. Duce 1914,
Walter E. Pitcher 1924, Joseph Y. Card 1932, Lyman
Rasmussen 1936, Lloyd Cahoon 19, Earl Peterson
19.

Cardston Third Ward-Almo O. Wiley 1946.

Aetna Ward - Richard A . Pilling 1893, Niels
Hansen 1899, Nathan W. Tanner 1918, Andrew O.
Jensen 1920, Ben H. May 1933, Christian Jensen 1934,
Willis Pitcher 1946, Ora L. Jensen 1950.

Beazer Ward- Mark E. Beazer 1900, George A.
Duce 1916, George E. Peterson 1919, Royal M. Beazer
1930, Glen D. Broadhead 1948, W. Roy Pilling 1949.

Caldwell Ward-David H. Caldwell Sr.1898, David
H. Caldwell Jr. 1900, Isaac W. Allred 1904. The ward
was discontinued in 1910.

Del Bonita Branch - Andrew M. Spence 1916,
Eugene Robinson 1922, Harry J. Orcutt 1925, Harry C.
Orcutt 1939, Elmer Carter 1940.

Glenwood Ward-Vincent 1. Stewart 1909, Edward
Leavitt 1911, Sylvester Williams 1926, Glen Wood 1927,
Clarence J. Wight 1933, Eldon A. Quinton 1941, Owen
L. Leavitt 1943, Edwin K. Greene 1946.

Hartley Ward-William O. Bigelow 1928, Melvin
Fullmer 1930, Ervin Loose 1937, H. Vibert Woodruff
1940, Chase H. Smith 1950.

Hillspring Ward - Franklin Pierce Fisher 1910.
Franklin R. Smith 1925, Heber L. Harker 1928, Wallace
Hurd 1934, Glen G. Fisher 1940, Max Wynder 1947.

Jefferson Branch-Orene Hansen. 1948.

Kimball Ward-John M. Dunn 1900, William R.
Sloan 1903, David R. Thompson 1908, Thomas S.
Gregson 1909, James E. Nielson 1913, Thomas S. Low
1918, John H. Bennett 1923, James R. Frodsham 1927,
John C. Peterson 1928, Gerald Low 1939, John Sugden
1941, Edward L. Wolsey 1942, Maurice L. Bennett 1944.
This ward was discontinued in 1948.

Leavitt Ward - Frank Leavitt 1896, Willard G.
Smith 1908, George Edward Cahoon 1921, Owen L.
Archibald 1935, LerVae A. Cahoon 1950.

Mountain View Ward-Vincent 1. Stewart 1893,
James S. Parker 1907, Ernest Parrish 1918, Seymour
Smith 1930, Melvin Pilling 1937, William Payne Jr.
1944.

Pershing Branch-Lester Lee 1933, Heber Sheffield
1939. Lester Lee 1945. This branch became part of the
Jefferson Branch in 1948.

Taylorville Ward-George A. Nelson 1900, James
Rampton 1903, Robert A. Nelson 1908, Marcellus A.
Lowery 1917, Rulon W. Lowery 1936, E. Fay Little
1937, Alma Sommerfeldt 1938, DeVerle Lowery 1940,
Merlin Steed 1945.

Woolford Ward-William T. Ainscough 1906, Leo
Harris 1913, William T. Ainscough 1915, Arthur W.
Pitcher 1918, John A. Johanson 1924, Joseph E. Steed
1928, W. W. Roberts 1933, Marion W. Barrus 1938
LeRoy Pitcher 1948.

As each unit of the stake was organized meeting
houses were built to serve the needs of the new congrega-
tion. These buildings were designed so that they could be
used not only as chapels but for recreational purposes as
well since the social life of most communities centered
around these buildings. In time many of these buildings
were remodelled or replaced by larger structures. One of
the buildings in use for the longest time in the stake was
the Leavitt Chapel. Built in 1896 it was still in use in
1950.

As the church membership grew the leaders felt a
need to have a building large enough to accommodate the
conferences and other meetings of the stake. A decision
was made to build a tabernacle and construction began in
1908. The building was completed and dedicated in 1914.
Located on the temple block, this building served the
needs of the stake until it was dismantled in 1954.

By 1893 the population had outgrown the log school
and church building. A new frame structure was built.
After 1900 when the three room school moved into their
new eight room unit this building was remodeled and
enlarged to become the long famous old Stake Assembly
Hall. During the 1916 February quarterly conference it
was destroyed by fire and in 1917 the $20,000 Second
Ward Chapel was built on the same site. An addition to
this chapel, the Social Center, was built between 1938
and 1943 and served not only as a ward chapel but as a
cultural and recreational center for the whole stake.

From the time of their arrival in southern Alberta the
church members looked foreward to the day when a tem-
ple could be erected in their midst. On June 19, 1887,
during the first Sunday School meeting held in the settle-
ment, Elder John E. Layne predicted that a temple would
yet be built in their new home. A year later, on October
8, 1888, Apostle John W. Taylor prophesied the exact
spot on which a Canadian temple would be built. In 1912
the First Presidency of the Church announced that a tem-
ple would be built on Canadian soil and Cardston was
chosen as the site.

The ground-breaking ceremony took place November
5, 1913 and on September 19, 1915 David O. McKay of
the Council of the Twelve Apostles was present at the
laying of the cornerstone. The rain and sleet which ac-
companied this occasion could not dampen the joy and
gratitude of the assembled congregation of 2000 persons.

The saints donated generously of their time and
means to aid in the building of this edifice. The structure
built in the shape of a Maltese Cross, was made of white
granite hauled from quarries near Nelson, British
Columbia. The interior was graced with marble and
beautiful hardwoods from many parts of the world. Prior
to its dedication over 50,000 persons, both members and
non-members, toured the grounds and interior of the
temple.

In August of 1923 a large contingent of General
Authorities, led by President Heber J. Grant, arrived in
Cardston to preside at the dedication of the temple. John
A. Widstoe wrote that "it was the first time in the history
of the Church that so many of the General Authorities of
the Church had been assembled at one time outside the
boundaries of the United States". The building was
dedicated August 26, 1923.

President E. J. Wood was called to be the president of
this new temple and the first endowment session was held
on the evening of August 29, 1923. George F. Richards
and Joseph Fielding Smith directed this session. Presi-
dent Wood served as the temple president until 1948,
when, at the age of 82 and feeling the weight of this
responsibility, he asked to be released. Willard L. Smith
was called to replace him.

The temple has been a source of inspiration for
faithful Latter-Day Saints and it stands as a symbol of
the faith and dedication of the people who colonized the
Cardston area.

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