1

Front page of the Calgary Herald
17 June 1936
Little Chicago / Royalties, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood

2

The Beginning
In 1936 the big Turner Valley Royalties well blew in. People celebrated with a baseball game, a dance, and numerous parties. Someone even hung dynamite between two derrick tops and exploded it after dark. It was the dusty depression days and the timing of this discovery couldn't have been better. Oil and gas production meant employment for many and people flocked to the site. In no time a bustling town called Little Chicago sprang up in the foothills of Southern Alberta. Packed into an area of just over two square miles, Little Chicago grew and developed around more than 20 wells.
Oil field workers were usually followed by their families. This was usually because of the bad roads and long shifts - day or night. Sites would be prepared for a dwelling, the house/shack moved on, and the close proximity to unregulated gas lines would allow for lights, fuel and even a flare for burning garbage - all in less than a day.

3

A view of Little Chicago, the main road, some cars, and oil derricks
Circa 1930s
Little Chicago / Royalties, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood

4

The Little Chicago Remembered Committee talks about the beginnings of their town
Filmed in 2008
Southwestern Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood

5

What's In a Name?

No one really knows exactly why the town was called Little Chicago, but there are several stories. Some say it was in reference to the proprietor of the first general store who had a scar on his upper lip and locals felt that he charged exhorbitant prices for his goods. He was known locally as "Little Al Capone", and his store was on the shores of a slough nicknamed Lake Michigan. In his defense, everything had to be brought in by truck, and prices were high. Many people were forced to charge their groceries, some didn't pay their accounts, and "Little Al" later went bankrupt!

Others say the town was called Little Chicago because the large gas flares were "just like" the bright lights of Chicago. It was later named Royalties by the government in honour of the first crude oil producing well in the field.

According to the High River Times, June 22, 1937, "Little Chicago has been re-christened "Royalties." Which seems somewhat lacking in flavour. It is said that Pete Leman is to be the postmaster of the new town."

6

A wide shot of Little Chicago and its main road
Circa 1930s
Little Chicago / Royalties, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood

7

"Shacks sprang up like mushrooms, row after row. Live gas lines, leaky and above ground, were laid everywhere. Outdoor plumbing and small flares to burn garbage were in every backyard. Fred built a three room shack and the two children and I joined him in September, and how hard it was to adjust to cramped quarters and shift work with so many of the men sleeping in day time."

- Mrs. F. Taskey, In the Light of the Flares

8

Houses and shacks were quickly constructed during the oil boom
Circa 1930s
Little Chicago / Royalties, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood

9

How did Little Chicago grow and function?
Filmed in 2008
Little Chicago / Royalties, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood

10

View of Little Chicago looking north to Black Diamond. Some skid shacks are visible.
Circa 1937
Little Chicago / Royalties, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood, 008.031.001

11

A man fixing a little shack in Little Chicago
Circa 1930s
Little Chicago / Royalties, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood

12

Aerial view of Little Chicago/Royalties
Circa 1930s
Little Chicago / Royalties, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood

13

"As we drove over Hartell Hill I remember surveying the landscape. High wooden derricks dotted the rolling prairie. To the west were the magnificent Rocky Mountains. The sky was bright with sizzling flares of fire. The air was scented with a disagreeable odour, reminding me of rotten eggs. We soon became accustomed to this odor of raw gas. A sign on the road read 'Little Chicago'."

- Helen (Fishman) Goldenberg's account of her family's first sighting of their new home in Little Chicago

14

What did Little Chicago smell like?
Filmed in 2008
Little Chicago / Royalties, Alberta, Canada

Credits:
Museum of the Highwood