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The quarry was supported by loading and siding tracks utilized by the CPR. The sandstone would be loaded into buckets and then into a siding car, and then the break would be let off releasing the trolley. The Edworthy homestead is one of the oldest homesteads still existing in the Calgary Area.

Edworthy Family at their homestead ca. 1880s

Edworthy Family at their homestead ca. 1880s

Edworthy residence, on the left is the original log cabin, and the right is an addition added in 1896

Edworthy residence, on the left is the original log cabin, and the right is an addition added in 1896

Glenbow Stone Quarry, this is similar to what the Quarries in Edworthy Park would have looked like

Glenbow Stone Quarry, this is similar to what the Quarries in Edworthy Park would have looked like

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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Image Sources(Click to expand)

NA-1491-29 Used with permission by the Glenbow Library and Archives

Historic Resources, City of Calgary

NA-1025-1 used with permission by the Glenbow Library and Archives