Irvine

History

The vast prairies were home to the Cree and other indigenous groups who traversed the area in and around the nearby Cypress Hills, following the routes of the bison. By 1870, the bison were all but gone. The Palliser Expedition passed through the region in 1859. Métis settled in the hills during the mid-1860s, and the Cypress Hills Massacre occurred in 1873. A settlement developed around a trading post, and became known as 20 Mile Post - 20 miles from the next trading post at Medicine Hat. It later was renamed Irvine in honour of Colonel A. Irvine, a commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police who served with General F.D. Middleton during the North-West Rebellion of 1885. In early May 1883, the push was on to complete the Canadian Pacific Railway line from just east of Walsh to Medicine Hat. Crews of gandy dancers worked hard, building the rail line through 20 Mile Post, and reaching Medicine Hat on May 31. Trains brought Europeans with high hopes for their futures to the area. Today, long freight trains roll through Irvine rather quickly. Many German-Russian settlers homesteaded in the area and some of their descendants remain in and around Irvine to this day. The century-old St. George's Parish Cemetery bares evidence of this history. Prior to September 1, 1905, the community was within the jurisdiction of the Assiniboia District of the Northwest Territories. It then became part of the Province of Alberta. Irvine was once a thriving community, complete with an elected mayor and town council, several churches, businesses, etc. Several grain elevators once thrust their lofty towers to the sky. Blacksmith shops were kept busy making and repairing equipment for local ranchers and farmers. Agriculture is the mainstay of the district's economy. When…

Geography

An unusual geological formation was discovered northeast of Irvine when Google Earth images showed what has become known as the Badlands Guardian, a shape in the land that looks like a North American Indian wearing a feathered warbonnet.

Most-observed species

• Western Meadowlark

  Sturnella neglecta Audubon, 1844 · Aves
  222
• Swainson's Hawk

  Buteo swainsoni Bonaparte, 1838 · Aves
  152
• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  147
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  142
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  141
• Vesper Sparrow

  Pooecetes gramineus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  129
• Horned Lark

  Eremophila alpestris (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  128
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  124