Burdett, Alberta

grain elevator in Burdett, AB

Dec 12 – Burdett is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within the County of Forty Mile No. 8.  The County names are so bureaucratically stodgy!  Previously incorporated as a village in 1913, Burdett devolved to hamlet status in 2003.

Burdett is regarded as the site of Canada's first irrigation pivot.

Grain elevators, according to the online Canadian Encyclopedia, “have been variously referred to as prairie icons, prairie cathedrals or prairie sentinels, [and] are a visual symbol of western Canada.”  Apparently there are many nostalgic photographers travelling around and documenting these disappearing landmarks, as well as the farms and railways they served.  Many can be found in John MacDonald’s online collection, Grain Elevators of Western Canada.

image:  http://www.kconnolly.ca/Elevators/Alberta/Burdett.jpg