The Montgomery area was initially settled by O.A. Critchley, a British rancher. He purchased the land in the 1880s for $3 an acre. He later became one of the founding members of the Ranchmen’s Club in Calgary.
In 1906, James Shouldice purchased Critchley’s 480-acre ranch, located six miles west of Calgary. He had moved from Ontario with his wife and nine children a few years earlier to ranch in Alberta. In 1910, James Shouldice donated 100 acres along the Bow River to The City of Calgary for park space (Shouldice Park). Gradually, the community grew and came to be known as Shouldice Terrace.
The Shouldice family initially lived in a wooden ranch house along the riverbank but soon built a stately red brick house on top of the hill. The Shouldice Home was a 25-room mansion, resplendent with a gleaming spiral staircase and oak trim, and panoramic views of the valley. Along with their Calgary and Montgomery residences, the family continued to ranch on a large farm east of Calgary – now the town of Shouldice. James was one of the first Albertans to breed Hereford Cattle and was well known as an agricultural pioneer.
In 1937 the Shouldice Home was converted to the Calgary Crematorium. Due to a lack of trees, the Crematorium was easily visible to all the surrounding homes. Residents remember smoke occasionally billowing from the house on top of the hill, and there are many stories about its spooky qualities. One resident recalls hiding in the hedges that surrounded the building to watch as coffins were unloaded from hearses by dark-clothed assistants. Despite its landmark qualities and interesting stories, the Shouldice Home/Calgary Crematorium was demolished in 1974 because of worries over slope destabilization.
For many years this community existed as Shouldice Terrace. In 1943, some problems developed with the post office over the name, and its similarity to the town of Shouldice. After a request for a name change, the Shouldice family chose Montgomery, named after Bernard Law Montgomery of Alamein, a celebrated military leader from Great Britain who played an important role in WWI and WWII.
Excerpt from the booklet – A Hunt for History, Montgomery Memories. Copies of the booklet are available in the lobby of the Montgomery Community Centre.
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