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65:
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344:. Some of these are the failure of a mineral deposit to retain its worth, causing the town that grew up around it to die; falling world markets which in turn speeds the move from town to city; and natural disasters which wipe out, or make untenable, a community. However, the ghost town of Pakowki is one of those unique places which owes its deserted look primarily to miscalculations on the part of its creators.
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On the right hand side of one of the rises in the roadway is a large stock yard that stands tall against the skyline. Beyond, as the highway dips, may be seen a small railway section building sporting the sign "Pakowki." The actual town itself lay west of the stockyards, right against the railway
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During its slow progress across the semi-desert country, where grades were easy and the right-of-way uncluttered, it had been in the habit of stringing a "Y" out on the prairie to enable its engines to turn around. Manyberries was no exception, and for years to come marked the end of the line.
359:
reached the site of
Pakowki in 1915, and almost overnight a substantial town sprang into being. Despite the fact that the previous year had been a complete disaster, with scarcely one bushel having been harvested, some of the first buildings to be erected were
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continued through 1916, the handwriting was already on the wall for
Pakowki. The Dillenbecks moved their hotel and restaurant to Orion and were followed by the other business establishments. Within the span of a few months, all that remained of the prairie
415:
Though there were still many miles of track yet to be laid between
Weyburn and Stirling, the C.P.R. was in no rush. Leisurely, it extended its survey, then its grade and finally its tracks eastward to a small settlement known as
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in the fall of 1915 was stored in a large warehouse along the tracks, but the following year, with hopes high, two regular grain elevators were built in the hopes of handling the crops covering nearly 1,400 square miles of
412:, meant "Bad Water". A large lake situated to the south was noted by Palliser and he included it on his 1865 map as Peekopee. For the business men of 1915, it could have been translated as roughly to mean "bad medicine."
48:
431:, the settlers were quick to patronize the new town, which was closer. Since all the transportation was by horse and wagon, the farmers welcomed anything that would shorten their trips to town.
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Pakowki had one drawback, which was not fully appreciated at the time of its development. Most of the good homestead land lay north and east. Thus, as the rails moved on to a new siding called
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Immediately west was a
Chinese restaurant, and adjacent to that was the Pioneer House, owned by the Dillenbecks. C. Potter, down the street, had a machine shop ant the agency for
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Very little remains of
Pakowki, foundations and impressions in the ground from buildings can still be seen, although nothing remains, except the former
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Today, a set of stockyards belonging to the
Community Pasture Association of Pincher over looks the ghost town of Pakowki.
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Pakowki had a good sized main street fronted along the railway. Everson and
Gilchrist had a stove on the east end of town.
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In the early 2000s C.P.R. abandoned the less used
Stirling-Weyburn branch shortly after pulling the track from
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Indeed, as events were to prove, the line past
Etzikom was already over-extended. Trains ran twice a week.
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375:. The country is gentle and rolling, beautiful in many respects even when parched and brown.
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cars and trucks, while a lumber yard and two general stores rounded out the picture.
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Aerial view of
Pakowki Lake about 10km south of the former town site of Pakowki.
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was the section house, piles of used lumber, and the basements of houses.
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The site of present-day Pakowki is reached by traveling 6.5 miles east on
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tracks. All that remains to mark its location are broken foundations.
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as farmers treated themselves to the luxury of a shave and haircut.
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land. One of the busiest places in town was Smith's barbershop and
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336:There are many basic causes behind the creation of
303:. It is one of many ghost towns along the historic
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325:that has since been moved to a nearby community.
311:, about 10 km south. The word "Pakowki" is
408:The name Pakowki, when translated roughly from
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8:
979:Localities in the County of Forty Mile No. 8
307:route. Pakowki name originates from nearby
18:Unincorporated community in Alberta, Canada
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420:, which it reached in the fall of 1916.
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333:Taken from "The Ghost Towns Journal"
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536:Places adjacent to Pakowki, Alberta
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490:The Ghost Towns Journal - (Book)
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752:Indian reserves and settlements
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499:The Ghost Towns Journal (Book)
472:List of ghost towns in Alberta
467:List of communities in Alberta
1:
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392:Originally, the grain from a
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293:County of Forty Mile No. 8
175:County of Forty Mile No. 8
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357:Canadian Pacific Railway
320:Canadian Pacific Railway
285:unincorporated community
40:unincorporated community
984:Ghost towns in Alberta
295:. It is located along
109:49.46556°N 110.94750°W
699:Census agglomerations
217: • Summer (
455:Consul, Saskatchewan
291:, Canada within the
114:49.46556; -110.94750
105: /
767:Population centres
709:School authorities
170:Municipal district
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965:
945:Canada portal
855:Fort Saskatchewan
772:Designated places
757:Metis settlements
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315:for "Bad Water".
301:southeast Alberta
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955:
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694:Census divisions
673:Subdivisions of
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434:Though the good
233:Postal code span
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151:Southern Alberta
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355:branch of the
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342:Canadian West
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90:Coordinates:
66:
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32:) "Bad Water"
31:
22:
16:
950:
936:
924:
902:Spruce Grove
894:
885:Medicine Hat
880:Lloydminster
847:
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682:Subdivisions
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309:Pakowki Lake
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273:Pakowki lake
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957:WikiProject
830:Chestermere
762:Ghost towns
719:Communities
630:Manyberries
418:Manyberries
338:ghost towns
193:Jim Hillyer
112: /
100:110°56′51″W
973:Categories
912:Wetaskiwin
907:St. Albert
875:Lethbridge
777:Localities
558:Fitzgerald
478:References
441:metropolis
369:Highway 61
297:Highway 61
263:Highway 61
181:Government
97:49°27′56″N
844:(capital)
835:Cold Lake
410:Blackfoot
403:pool hall
399:homestead
313:Blackfoot
269:Waterways
246:Area code
200:Time zone
30:Blackfoot
931:Category
890:Red Deer
841:Edmonton
808:Beaumont
737:Villages
461:See also
451:Foremost
436:harvests
349:Stirling
258:Highways
134:Province
865:Lacombe
825:Camrose
819:Calgary
803:Airdrie
747:Hamlets
689:Regions
675:Alberta
620:Goddard
589:Pakowki
387:Model T
373:Etzikom
353:Weyburn
340:in the
329:History
289:Alberta
281:Pakowki
139:Alberta
125:Country
78:Pakowki
25:Pakowki
813:Brooks
787:Cities
727:Cities
625:Gahern
548:Whitla
283:is an
251:+1-403
146:Region
128:Canada
870:Leduc
792:urban
732:Towns
600:Orion
578:Skiff
429:Orion
371:from
228:(MDT)
226:UTC−6
205:UTC−7
789:and
347:The
453:to
299:in
287:in
219:DST
209:MST
975::
457:.
364:.
238:NA
188:MP
666:e
659:t
652:v
529:e
522:t
515:v
351:-
221:)
211:)
207:(
163:1
28:(
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