MOUNTAIN VIEW

NAME: Mountain View COUNTY: N/A ROADS: 4WD GRID: 2 CLIMATE: Mild summer,cold winter BEST TIME TO VISIT: Summer

COMMENTS: SW Corner of Alberta REMAINS: A few residences.

Like so many towns and villages in the southwest corner of Alberta, Mountain View owes its beginning to the industrious Mormon families from Utah who came to the area in the late 1880s and 1890s. A letter written by their leader, Charles Ora Card in 1898, indicates that “We have in Mountain View a creamery, a carpentry shop and smithy.” Soon, however, there was an abundance of cattle in the area and the creamery was in full use. Three locals brought in cheese-making equipment by wagon train all the way from Utah and began operations in the early 1900s. The first store in the village opened in 1900 and was followed by a hotel and a livery barn. An unusual reason was the cause of the town’s demise. Highway 5, which runs through the center of town and was paved in 1958 and was intended to bring more business into town, served to take business away from Mountain View and to the neighboring town of Cardston. Finally, business people began moving away and there was very little left. Even though its businesses are gone, some residents remain refusing to leave the town they still call home. : H.B. Chenoweth

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