Strathmore 5.17

Strathmore is a town located along the Trans-Canada Highway in southern Alberta, Canada within Wheatland County. It is approximately 50km east of the City of Calgary.HistoryThe town began as a hamlet for the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) lines that were built in the area in 1883. The CPR named the town after one of its benefactors: Claude Bowes-Lyon, the Earl of Strathmore. The Earl's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth – as consort to King George VI – later passed through the community on the "Royal Train" in late May 1939.A track laying record was made between Strathmore and Cheadle when the railroad was built. In one hour one mile (1.6 km) of steel was laid and – at the end of the ten-hour working day – the rails were laid to Cheadle, 9mi for a record. Efforts by the Canadian government to develop western Canada led to increases in Strathmore's population and its importance as a rail supply stop.In 1905 the CPR moved the Hamlet of Strathmore 4mi north to its current location. The first school opened in 1908.The CPR railroad tracks are now gone, the land having been subdivided.