Whiskey Gap, Alberta

For other uses, see Whisky (disambiguation).

Whiskey Gap
Unincorporated community
Whiskey Gap Location of Whiskey Gap in Alberta
Coordinates: 49°01′57″N 113°01′53″W / 49.03250°N 113.03139°W / 49.03250; -113.03139
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Southern Alberta
Census division	3
Municipal district	Cardston County
Government
• Governing body	Cardston County Council
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
Postal code span	T0K 2P0
Area code(s)	+1-403
Highways	Highway 501
Waterways	Milk River

Whiskey Gap is a ghost town in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located about 50 miles south of Lethbridge on Highway 501.

History

Taken from the road side historical marker

In the 1860s and 1870s American traders crossed into what would become Alberta to trade goods and alcohol for buffalo robes and furs. One of the main routes for this trade, the Riplinger Road, crossed the border just west of Whiskey Gap.

During the Prohibition period in Alberta between 1916-1924 alcohol was smuggled through this area from the United States. Later it flowed in the opposite direction when the Americans declared Prohibition.

The local post office was named Fareham in 1918, and when the railway reached the area a community consisting of 3 grain elevators, a store, and other businesses and houses grew up around this post office. In 1929 the community was officially renamed Whiskey Gap.^[1] Although little remains of this once thriving community, its name reflects its long and colorful past and strategic location.

Geography

The town site is in a pass through the Milk River range of hills on a water shed between the Missouri and Saskatchewan River drainage system, which suggests the name "gap" at first glance.

Media

In 1976 hundreds of people came to Whiskey Gap for the production of Terrence Malick's period film Days of Heaven. The quiet little village was once again booming as it was back in its heyday. A steam engine, covered wagons, coaches, old-fashioned trucks, and people dressed in period clothing bustled about the area.