Tag: Rimbey
Rimbey ( /ˈrɪmbiː/) is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located at the junction of Highways 20 and 53 in the Blindman River valley area, approximately 62 kilometres (39 mi) northwest of Red Deer and 145 kilometres (90 mi) southwest of Edmonton.
Officially made a community in 1902, the first name given to the settlement at the turn of the century was Kansas Ridge as many of the settlers came from Kansas. Among them were the three Rimbey brothers (Sam, Ben, and Jim) for whom the town was officially named after in 1904. The Rimbeys moved to Canada from Scott County, Illinois, having moved to Illinois in the 1830s from Maryland. They were originally from Pennsylvania.
In 1919 the Lacombe and Blindman Valley Electric Railway (later part of the Canadian Pacific Railway) reached Rimbey, and there was much enthusiasm for the “new town” by the tracks (now Highway 20). Two grain companies built elevators the following year and Rimbey’s population swelled to 319 by 1921.
The Second World…