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BentleyThe Story Behind Alberta Names by Harry M. Sanders
Journalist Ken Liddell, who for a quarter century examined rural themes in his Calgary Herald column, once observed that "90 percent of the Bentley settlers died in the community." The most obvious exception was George Bentley (1862-1945), a sawyer from Michigan who settled along the Blindman River in the 1890’s. When Major William B. McPherson, a U.S. Civil War veteran, opened a post office in April 1900, Bentley’s name was the controversial choice. Settlers preferred McPherson’s name, but they were outnumbered by the sawmill employees, who wanted Bentley. George Bentley left Bentley around 1905 and is almost certainly the George Calvin Bentley who settled in Stettler that same year. There he operated the Staples Lumber Company and served as the first village reeve and as a school board trustee. In 1922, he left Alberta permanently and as a real estate promoter, became the "founding father" of Virginia City (now North Long Beach), California. Bentley, Alberta was incorporated as a village in 1915 and as a town in 2001.
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BENTLEY
In 1899, Major Wm. B. McPherson, a veteran of the American Civil War, together with his sons filed on land in Township 40 on the present site of the village of Bentley. The junction of four of their homestead quarters is now the cross roads of the Village of Bentley at McPherson Avenue and Vig Street. (50th Avenue & 50th Street)
Prior to 1915 a petition was formed regarding the naming of the village. The original names of Oxford and Springdale were turned down as these two names had been frequently used across Canada. The government officials then decided to use the top name from the petition, being that of Bentley. George Bentley was one of the sawmill operators near the outlet of Gull Lake.
The original boulevard was built in 1930 with the idea of it being a buffer for any future fire. In 1916 all buildings on the south side of main street were destroyed by fire which started in the livery stable.
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