Minburn, Alberta

Minburn is a quiet picturesque village that is nestled within a valley alongside the underground spring of Birch Creek. When passing through Minburn, travelers are greeted by the open prairies, sharp hills, and numerous small lakes and creeks.  When passing through the countryside, spectators can witness the remnants of the pioneering days including churches and early farm structures.

Minburn offers residents a relaxing environment, while still being in close proximity to both urban and large rural centres.  These include Vegreveille 40 km west, Mannville 10 km east, Vermilion 30 km east, and Edmonton just over an hour away. Minburn has the advantage of being located on the Trans-Canada highway, and could see great economic benefits from tourists stopping in. 

As of 2001, the population of the community was 90 people, with an undetermined amount of residents in the outlying vicinity. Minburn has seen a decrease in the population since 1991, with a reduction of 5.56% from 1996 to 2001. This may seem large, however, with a small core population this translates into only five residents leaving the community.  On the positive side, Minburn has the support of a sound young population core, which is a rarity for rural communities. Minburn has a core population that is 25-34 (22%), followed by adults 45-54 (16.6%) and children 0-4 (16.6%).

The first settlers came before there were any plans for a village.  The first individuals to set up camp in Minburn were the Anderson brothers in 1904. The C.N.R came through in 1905, and chose Minburn as a station site. The railway had a regulation of having a stop every 8 miles, but Minburn was not a part of the original plans. The C.N.R chose a stop In Minburn because of the adjacent creek that could be used to obtain water for the steam engines. Later the C.N.R built a water tower and a storage tank to accommodate the railway. The C.N.R named the new township Minburn, after the popular prairie writer Mina Burns. 

In the years after the railway completion, settlers began to arrive steadily.  In the next few years, a large portion of the homesteaders came from the Grand Valley area of Ontario and settled in northern Minburn. Southern Minburn was comprised of Scandinavians from Wisconsin and Minnesota. The first settlers considered religion and education two main priorities. With no structural churches, settlers held early church services in local homes, and a local school was up and running by 1906.

In early times, Minburn had abundant amounts of sand and gravel from the local creek beds.  Even though this did not turn into a lucrative industry base, the deposits were used for the local railway, roads, and the highway.

With the Minburn community growing there was a desperate need for local businesses, as residents traveled as far as Wetaskiwin for groceries. In 1905 Mr. Matson, a C.N.R foreman, set up Minburn’s first store. This was followed by a lumberyard owned by James Park, a woodworking shop, a hardware store, a livery barn, a blacksmith shop, and the Oddfellows Hall. The first Grain elevator was built in 1913 and from this point on the village grew quickly. Before long, businesses flourished with the addition of a Post Office, boarding house, machinery agent, auctioneer, livestock buyer, real estate agent, butcher shop, bank, garage, feed mill, barber shop, and three grain elevators.

This small community has had terrible luck with main street development, as three disastrous fires have occurred. During Minburn’s development peak of the late 1930’s, a disastrous fire hit the village.  Almost all businesses on the west side of main street were destroyed. This included a restaurant, candy factory, grocery store, butcher shop, and a business office. A second incident occurred in 1950, with the service station and store being ruined on the west side of main street. Then again in 1955 another fire hit, this time on the east side of main street, and the community lost the local pool hall, grocery store, garage, and the community hall with attached restaurant and rooming suites. 

The life of early Alberta settlers is still alive in the Minburn area. A landmark of years past was the Park home located two miles west of Minburn. Built in 1910, the home was extravagant for those times, with solid white wood and green gables. In the past, the home was the site for family Sunday outings, and admired  by travelers  heading down highway 16.  As well, the picturesque house was a part of many photographers’ and artists’ creations. Sadly, the home was destroyed by arson in 1979 and no longer serves the community as a reminder of the community’s beginnings. 

Early Minburn was composed mainly of the agricultural industry in the form of mixed farming. As the community developed, an impressive business core was established, aiding in Minburn’s growth and prosperity. Throughout the late 1930’s and onward, Minburn acted as the main agricultural hub for the district, with a large number of farmers travelling to Minburn for all their service needs. 

Today the main industry continues to be agriculture, mainly in the form of mixed farming. With years passing by, the communities of Vegreville and Vermillion have seen huge increases in activity with more businesses and services.  As such, Minburn has ceased to be the agricultural base and hub for the district. Minburn has adjusted to the constant changes affecting this small community and it continues to survive through the support of local residents and the neighbouring farming community.

Local and surrounding businesses as of June 2003:

Resources

Business data sources include: Alberta Business-to-Business Directory, Albertafirst.com, WorldWeb Travel Guide (Discover Alberta), Google Search, Albertadirectory.com, Albertaswfirst.com,  Crowsnest-highway.ca and SuperPages Telephone Directory.

(2001).  Minburn Community Profile. AlbertaFirst Website. Retrieved on May 19, 2003 from www.albertafirst.com

(2001).  Minburn County Profile. AlbertaFirst Website. Retrieved on May 19, 2003 from www.albertafirst.com

(2003).  Minburn.  Central East Alberta Website.  Retrieved on June 25, 2003 from www.centraleastalberta.com

Minburn Golden Age Society.  (1980).  Miles to Minburn.  Minburn Alberta: Minburn Golden Age Society.