ONE HUNDRED SIXTY ACRES AND A DREAM
Seven Persons - As The Story Was Told

Chapter 1

Origin of the Name

The Canadian Pacific Railway Company completed its
railroad, linking the territory between the Atlantic Ocean
and the Pacific Ocean in 1885. Its route touched Winnipeg,
Regina, Maple Creek, Medicine Hat, Brooks and Calgary,
but did not fill the need of transportation for the area to
the south of the South Saskatchewan River to the United
States border. A few years later, probably in 1891
another company, American owned, built a railway line,
connecting Minniapolis to Spokane. It was known as the
Soo Spokane Flier and it went by way of Portal, (the
American - Canadian port of entry), Maple Creek, Dauntless,
Lethbridge and the Crow's Nest Pass. This pass was
chosen because it was the most natural one through the
Rocky Mountains, not requiring much extra or expensive
construction.

It was the construction crew of this railway who named
this section. Not far from the site, they had come upon
seven rough graves, but of white men or Indians was
not recalled or established. A decision was made.
This would be Seven Persons. It became the name of
the hamlet and of the surrounding area.

Throughout the years, especially with bus drivers and
train conductors, such jokes have been:
"If you are from Seven Persons how are the other six?"
"How can you have a baseball team from there? There
are only seven."
"I see two of you so the place must be called Five Persons
to-day."
What fun those who named the rail sections must have had
in trying to choose appropriate titles.
"Let's call this one Maple Creek. I'm sure those are
maple trees along that creek bank."
"Grassy Lake is a good handle for this one. It could be
a lake here, but I see only a sea of grass."
"I saw an island in the river, the Bow River.
How about Bow Island?"
"Dunmore is good enough for this division, Boss.
We done more work to-day than on any day since
we started."

There is another story concerning the name's derivation.
A Blood Indian band, led by it's chief, Calf-Shirt,
was travelling through the area, and encountered
and did battle with a band of Cree Indians near a
creek in south-eastern Alberta. Seven Crees were
killed and their medicine pipe taken. The place
was called Kitsuki-a-tapi, which could be interpreted
to mean seven persons.

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