Sexsmith Historic Self Guided Walking Tour

Sexsmith Historic Self Guided Walking Tour

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Sexsmith Historic Self Guided Walking Tour

Sexsmith, Alberta T0H 3C0, Canada

Created By: Sexsmith & District Museum Society

Tour Information

Sexsmith Historic Walking Tour!

Come take a scenic tour through historic downtown Sexsmith and surrounding residential area. Highlights of this self-guided tour include a towering grain elevator, train station, Blacksmith shop, and a 1920s farm house (and more!)

You may know Sexsmith, but you may not know of the unique historic buildings we have in our little town. Come check them out, tour the town, and visit the local shops and restaurants. You may be surprised what you find!


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What You'll See on the Tour

After lots in the Benville Townsite began to sell in 1916, the community, which would eventually be renamed as Sexsmith, began to emerge as an important farming center.  By 1929, when it was incorporated as a village, it boasted seven gra... Read more
During the early 1920’s, Sexsmith became a major exporter of wheat and other farm produce.  A modern railway station was warranted, but not until 1928 was the station finally built.  It was designed with a long platform in front, and wi... Read more
With the economic boom of the late 1920s, and the growing extent of mechanization in the district, there was a need for a full time truck and automobile garage, in addition to farm implement repair shops.  In about 1926, Jack Neys establis... Read more
When this building was opened as a hardware store in 1929 the business was then the second hardware store in town and was owned and operated by William MacEwen as the MacEwen Hardware.  Prosperity was fleeting, however, and at the height o... Read more
In 1925, John and Mary Olson bought out butcher William Turvey.They purchased the two properties on Railroad Avenue, which housed a barbershop and pool hall, as well as the butcher shop. John was later joined by his sons, Harold, Roald and ... Read more
This building was constructed in 1956 to serve as the new Rexall Drug Store, replacing the earlier wood-frame drug store further north on Main Street. It featured the first red brick façade on Main Street. The Drug Store was co-owned by dr... Read more
The Dr. McCrum Office, constructed in 1942, is valued for its association with Sexsmith’s second and third resident doctors and as a link to the town’s long-standing medical history.  Sexsmith’s second resident doctor, Dr. Lyman Game... Read more
In 1921 this property was purchased by Hank Weicker, who contracted Jack and Oliver Johnson to construct a two-story residence on it. In about 1933 the building was leased to Bird’s General Store in Grande Prairie and turned into a branch... Read more
Shortly after the Townsite of Benville was subdivided in 1916, the title to this lot was acquired by David Sexsmith, a trader, merchant and homesteader who had first set foot in the district in 1898.  Sexsmith proceeded to construct a log ... Read more
The first Sexsmith Hotel was a wood frame two story structure on Main Street, just north of Dr. McCrum’s Office (Item #7), built in 1921 by Jacob “Hank” Weicker.  Three years later, Mary Hudson built the larger Connaught Hotel just n... Read more
Since the late 1920s, the property south of the hotel was owned by the Kirstien family from North Kleskun.  Here, they built garage, livery stable, and entertainment hall.  In 1950, they sold the property to Carroll Leonard who owned the ... Read more
When Jacob (Hank) Weicker purchased this property from Benhard Foster in 1928, it was for the purpose of constructing a new hotel, which was done the following year.  Weicker had been operating the old Sexsmith Hotel on MainStreet since 19... Read more
Built in 1926, the Innes Residence is an example of a typical Arts and Crafts style residence in the town of Sexsmith which was inspired by the British Arts and Crafts movement. Sexsmith possesses a unique and substantial collection of Arts... Read more
The Olson Residence, built circa 1923, is a highly unique expression of vernacular residential architecture. The residence’s unique jerkinhead roof, the only example in the community, asymmetrical hipped-roof projection at the rear of the... Read more
The Sharp Residence, built circa 1920s, is an exceptional residential example of Arts and Crafts style architecture in the community of Sexsmith. It is identifiable by its carried siding, hipped eave returns, double and triple assembly wind... Read more
With a large number of Norwegian immigrants settling in and around Sexsmith, it was inevitable that a Lutheran congregation would become a part of the early community.  In 1922, services began to be conducted in private homes and the commu... Read more
From 1921 to 1958, several structures housed the Maternity Hospital for Sexsmith and area.  These buildings were operated by Johanna Haakstad, a native Norwegian whose family had settled near La Glace.  Already proficient in midwifery, Jo... Read more
Known officially as “The Church of the Immaculate Conception of Mary”, this church was designed and built by Father Francis Dales in 1954.  It replaced an earlier wood frame structure, built in 1917 in Clairmont, and was moved to this ... Read more
This house was constructed at some point during the population boom of the later 1920s, when Sexsmith emerged as a village with close to 300 people.  In the late 1940s, it was occupied by Paul and Elise Wold and their children, Melvin and ... Read more
Though a good number of the first settlers in the Sexsmith district were of the Anglican faith, it was not until 1936 that the first Anglican Church was built.  Prior to then, services were conducted in private homes or in the local Masoni... Read more
This house was built circa 1920 and is another example of the Arts and Crafts style residences that were built in Sexsmith around this time. It is valued for its connection with the first resident doctor in the area, Dr. Robert Norman Shaw.... Read more
This dwelling was built in 1921 and would serve as the home of blacksmith Nels Johnson and his wife, Charlotte, until 1971. Born in Sweden, Johnson had come to Canada in 1909 and worked as a blacksmith in Edson before moving to the Sexsmith... Read more
This was once the location of the Frontier Lumber Company. It was founded in 1918, and Frontier Lumber yards were opened in Grande Prairie, Spirit River, and Sexsmith. The yard in Sexsmith was located at this site, with a small office in fr... Read more
The Paszkowski House, which was built by Emil Swensen between 1926 to 1934, was home to the Swensen family until 1946, and then, briefly, to Bill and Grace Leonard and family. The farm and house were purchased by Walter and Mannie Paszkowsk... Read more
Shortly after the subdivision of the Benville Townsite in 1916, a number of commercial buildings began to appear.  One of the first was the blacksmith shop.  It was constructed and first operated by Dave Bozarth, who lived in the back wit... Read more

 

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