Edworthy Park

In 1883 the Edworthy Family settled along the Bow River in the area that is now Edworthy Park. In 1885 Thomas Edworthy began quarrying sandstone in the area called the Bow Bank Quarries. After the Great Calgary Fire of 1886, City Hill made it law that all new buildings in Calgary must be made from sandstone. The Bow Bank Quarries were used to build many prominent Calgary structures, including Norman Block, the Pat Burns Manor, and the McKay House. Thomas Edworthy operated three quarries along the Bow River. The quarry works were substantial with derricks to lift the stone and mechanized wagons on graded roads to carry the sand to the railway. Edworthy quarry operations ended when Thomas Edworthy died in 1904, and the quarries were leased and operated by others until 1914. The City of Calgary purchased the homestead from the Edworthy family in 1962 with the intent of turning it into a public park bearing the family’s name and to preserve the historical activities on the land. The Edworthy home still exists and was placed on the Alberta Historic Resource Register in 1987. Visitors can still see the quarry site with exposed sandstone, drill marks, rubble piles and excavations for the derrick footings. 

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