MARY'S GENEALOGY TREASURES
About six or seven miles west of Cardston along the
No. 5 highway to Waterton Lakes is the little hamlet of
Leavitt. It is nestled in a beautiful valley surrounded by
rolling hills and backed by a skyline of rock mountains
with Old Chief dominating the group. This valley was at
one time called Buffalo Flats, although this was never an
official title. Leavitt was named in honour of Thomas
Rowell Leavitt Sr., one of the original pioneers and the
ancestor of all the Leavitts in this area.
Some of the early pioneer families of the Leavitt area
were: Archibald, Alder, Atkins, Baker, Broadbent,
Brown, Bankhead, Coombs, Cooper, Cahoon, Glen,
Hunt, Haslam, Hackett, Helberg, Leavitt, Layne,
Matkin, Olsen, Quinton, Reid, Parks, Spence, Stewart,
Stutz, Sibley, Sorenson, Smith, Thorpe, Vincent,
Williams, Walburger, Wilson.
In the spring of 1896, ten teams went to the timber-
Francis Broadbent, Charles F. Broadbent, William
Cooper, Charles Quinton, Thomas R. Leavitt Jr.,
William Leavitt, Frank Leavitt, John Hunt, Horace
Williams and Thomas Wilson. These ten outfits brought
down enough rough lumber and logs to build a one-
room church and school. The first meeting house was
completed and dedicated on July 10, 1896. The follow-
ing November 23, 1896 the Leavitt Ward was organized,
and Frank Leavitt was chosen Bishop, a position which
he held until 1908.
The second Bishop of the Leavitt Ward was Willard
G. Smith, who had taken a homestead in the Leavitt dis-
trict in 1897. Under his leadership an addition was made
to the one-room church. A large stage and a second
storey with three classrooms and a hallway were added.
This work was done by the community with Charles
Quinton and Andrew Spence as carpenters and William
Cooper as mason. In addition to their own building the
members of the Leavitt Ward, along with all the other
Wards in the Alberta Stake, were given an allotment
toward the building of the Tabernacle in Cardston. This
Tabernacle was completed in 1911. In November 1913
work commenced on the Alberta Temple, and again
much donation and community work was done under the
supervision of the Leavitt Bishopric. Bishop Smith was
released November 1921.
George Edward Cahoon was the bishop of the Leavitt
Ward from November 1921 to March 1935. Work was
still proceeding on the Alberta Temple, which was
dedicated in 1923. He had the responsibility, as a leader
of the Ward, to help with the completion of this project
with the cash allotment and work still required. He had
been the first recreational leader in Leavitt.
The fourth bishop was Owen L. Archibald. He was
bishop from March 1935 to January 1950. He was in-
terested in the music of the ward. He played in an
orchestra, lead the choir, took an active part in dramatics
and concerts.
Lervae A. Cahoon was the fifth bishop of the Leavitt
Ward, followed by Ray Leavitt and Chester Walburger.
As the scope of this history is from the beginning to 1950,
their activities are not listed.
On June 8, 1896 school commenced. The district was
not large and was very scattered. School started with an
enrollment of 25 pupils from five to sixteen. The next
three or four years saw an increase in enrollment to about
125 which made it necessary to hire another teacher. A
new two-room school was built, which was destroyed by a
fire in 1927. School was again held in the church house
until the new school was built.
Leavitt has the distinction of being among the first to
be recognized by the Government as a School District
and was given the number 458. At this time all the land in
Beazer, Mountain View and Caldwell districts belonged
to the Leavitt School District.
In 1919 D. O. Wight, the principal of the school,
organized a band which became known as the U.F.A.
Band, as this was an election year. This band was invited
to attend a young people's convention in the University
Building in Edmonton. There were thirty young people in
this band. They played at many stations along the way to
Edmonton, as well as performing in Edmonton. Leavitt
gained much praise and recognition through this band.
The tithing plan of the Church at this time required a
large tithing granary and barn to be built. Charles Quin-
ton had bought a quarter section of railroad land which
he divided in town lots. These lots were sold to in-
dividuals who wished a lot on which to build a home
closer to church and school. A lot was donated from
William Leavitt's quarter section for the church lot, one
for the school and another for a tithing lot where this
granary and barn were built. A lot for a town square was
bought from Charles Quinton. When the tithing plan was
changed, and people paid their tithing in cash, the tithing
granary was sold to John L. Redford who moved it to his
farm.
With Bishop Cahoon in charge, it was decided to
plow and remove the dirt from the town square to make a
suitable ball diamond, and place to hold their out-of-door
recreation. This took a lot of work by the people of the
community. It has been improved over the years, and is
one of the best in the district.
When the two-room school was burned to the ground
in 1927, through some unknown origin, blue prints were
made for a new school. The people of the community
were without a recreation hall. The bishopric and
school trustees held a council meeting, and later a
meeting was held with the ratepayers. It was agreed that
a gymnasium be built for church recreation as well as
school activities. The members donated their labour for
this privilege.
The Leavitt Irrigation project was another outstan-
ding example of community co-operation. Rather than
place mortgages on their properties to have an irrigation
system built, the people organized work crews and did
the work themselves with very little cash outlay, except
for bridges, spillways, structures and equipment
purchased. To accomplish this some 100 head of horses
were used and from 50 to 60 men. Each man received
ditch credit for the work done. This was credited to his
land.
There have been several fires in the area, which have
destroyed homes and left families destitute. The people of
the community immediately organized to build new
homes, and help to supply the necessities for these
families.
For many years Annie Baker (Aunt Annie as she was
affectionately known throughout the community) was
mid-wife, nurse and doctor, travelling to Beazer, Moun-
tain View, Caldwell and other places. Her nursing came
first, and she was always willing to go when she was
needed, regardless of the weather, or the time of day or
night. Sometimes she would stay for two or three days
until a mother and new baby were out of danger.
There were no undertakers. The Relief Society and
Bishopric took complete charge of caring for the bodies.
There were others, which for lack of space cannot be
mentioned, who were always willing to care for the sick,
or help out in any emergency that might arise. During the
flu epidemic in 1918 and in 1919, G. E. Cahoon, Sam
Haslam and D. O. Wight, the three people in Leavitt who
did not get the flu, went from house to house carrying
water, chopping wood, doing chores, making mustard
plasters, bringing medicine and fixing meals.
The people of Leavitt have worked together and
played together. Their dramatic club provided enjoyable
entertainment, taking their three-act plays as far as Spr-
ing Coulee and Pincher Creek. There were always July
Ist and July 24th celebrations, baseball games, basket
ball games, dances, and family reunions.
Today the people of Leavitt still work and play
together. The beautiful chapel and cultural hall located
just off the highway, built by hard work, sacrifice, love
and co-operation, is the center of the religious and social
activities of the community.
Note: The Information in this article was taken from the
Leavitt Ward History compiled by Emma L. Broadbent.
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