Little Dorothy Alberta

Little Dorothy Alberta has flirted with ghost town status for a while, but seems reluctant to concede, with few hardy folks still calling it home. Of interest to the history minded there’s a couple cute little churches to take in and barely hanging on, the old grain elevator down by the highway. But there’s more if you look close. There’s the funky phone booth, that ’60s car by the long closed store, old pioneer cabins and at the kid’s playground, the retro rocking horse. At every turn, there’s a story waiting to tell.

The setting is the Red Deer River Valley in the Alberta Badlands and a more picturesque backdrop near impossible to find.

Held in high regard as a photographer’s paradise, one can still find solitude and have the place to yourself most times. Of all the subjects seen on this website, this is one of the most well known, but still very much in the spirit of “Off the Beaten Path”. All you need is bit a history and some character and it’s got both. We’re in!

Located east of Drumheller, the town is maintained by volunteers – bless the society – and they could use your help. Please drop a bill or two in any donation boxes you find and become part of the team helping to preserve all these wonderful memories of yesteryear.

On the ground in Little Dorothy Alberta.

The grain elevator is a towering giant you can’t miss and was built in 1928 and closed 1951. Exposed to the elements it’s battle scarred, weathered and showing it age. The roof came off in a windstorm a few years back and this perhaps a final death knell. That’s it’s so overbuilt (tons of wood held together by a million nails) has kept it standing long, but the clock is ticking fast now. Built for the Alberta Pacific Grain Company, it’s one of a few such buildings left in the province connected to that firm. Amazingly, the lettering on its side is still quite legible.

Most people take photos of this majestic building from the side of the highway or from “downtown” Dorothy, with those old cars and tractors offering up lots of foreground interest. More adventuresome types might follow the gravel road that climbs up the valley to the south and capture it from a viewpoint up there. Us, we wanted something something different and new. How about the valley top to the north? Since there’s no road, only pasture there, it’s a good bet we’ll be breaking new ground. What a great angle it was and the building looks almost model railway-like from up there. The elevator is in a field on private property but is easily without needing to hope a fence.

This was not the only grain elevator here, but it’s the last. The railway line that used to pass it by (where the highway is today) was a Canadian Pacific branch that came through in the late 1920s. Dorothy, as a locality, existed before, but it was the coming of steel in which it became a town. They moved a lot of coal and grain along this stretch of track at one time, but by 1970s it had closed.

Look for the old store, last in business in the late 1970s. Just down from there it’s the town’s now infamous phone booth. Still standing but no longer in service, it’s humorously stocked with interesting props. There’s the Fisher-Price toy phone, old two-way radio equipment and gone now, the laughing mannequin.

Nearby it’s the much photographed 1960s Plymouth Valiant (which I swear changes colour slightly with each visit). There’s a couple tractors and a Jeep nearby, all oldies too and on display for your enjoyment.

At one end of the community and down a little lane, it’s two churches facing off. Watch out for the ant highway below!

Originally the Catholic Church was a rural school (built 1912) but after closing in the 1930s was moved into town for a new calling. It took while but in 1944 it opened as Our Lady of Perpetual Help and remained in use until 1967. The United Church was formerly a house in nearby Finnegan, moved here and likewise repurposed, with services beginning in the early 1930s. This church held on until 1961.

In deplorable shape by the time they were fixed up (starting 2006-ish), they’re present day welcoming and open for you to view. They’ve done a great job given what they were up against. I mean there was metres of bird poo for one in each and we saw it first hand. I guess here it’s proof positive that no matter how far gone something is, there is sometimes hope. Not always, but for some.

At the peak some hundred folks called Dorothy home, while today the population can be counted a hand or two. Such is the downward cycle of the small prairie town.

At the community hall there’s plenty of old photos on the wall showing events being held there. We could spend all day taking them in. Further back, it’s a couple rustic cabins all furnished and made to look as thought occupied. These are a good representation on how life was back then (simple, hard, challenging, soul crushing sometimes, life changing…we could go on). No Netflix, no smart phones, no Skip the Dishes. just a wood stove, drafty windows, maybe a book to read, an old Eaton’s Catalogue in lieu of that, doing you’re business out back and endless day to day drudgery. How different from present day. Where as the churches always seem to be open, these other buildings many not be at all times.

Nearby it’s the most retro playground on the planet. So much steel and so many places to chip a tooth or whack a shin. The rocking horse is a perennial favourite and with enough motivated participants you could really get it bucking violently. The goal, of course, was to get someone to tumble off in jumbled mess and perhaps with a contusion or two to boot. Here, a bloody nose was a badge of honour! There’s the metal slide that’d burn you on a hot day…that you’d go down face first. The chain-link swing – pinchy! The pukie-go-round! That’s how kids rolled back then.

The infamous phonebooth.

Dorothy was named for after a young lady that lived in the area at the time the post office was established.

Look up the National Film Board documentary Every Saturday Night (early 1970s), and take in the local troupe, the Badlanders, playing a dance at the community hall. Always putting on a rip-roaring show they became legends in the valley and in their wake was a trail of broken hearts and trashed motel rooms (he said jokingly). In some scenes from this film you can see Dorothy in the background briefly…there’s the churches!

This is not out first visit here, but it’s been a while and though a fresh take on it was due. Learn a lot more from this earlier visit: Dorothy Alberta (2013).

Here’s a few Google search terms if want to know more: Dorothy Alberta Churches, Dorothy Alberta Grain Elevator and to look up that NFB film to become a Badlander’s groupie like us Bandlanders Every Saturday Night.

Till we meet again friends.

They’re saying…

”I enjoy history so really enjoy the pictures and back stories.” Ted Swanson.

In the area…
Red Deer Valley Wanderings – Just random awesomeness.
East Coulee Alberta Then & Now – 40 years apart.
Prairie Sentinels – Kirkpatrick Alberta.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here don’t hesitate to contact us!

Date of Adventure: Various 2017 & September 2020.
Location(s): Dorothy, AB.
Article references and thanks: Book – The Grass Roots of Dorothy 1895-1970, Canadian Trackside Guides, Larry Buchan and those who curate the town.
If you visit Little Dorothy Alberta please be mindful of those living there.

The old car’s been here a long time.

The store closed in the late ’70s.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church.

Careful where you step.

Dorothy’s United Church.

Inside Our Lady…

It was a deplorable mess not that long ago.

The United Church is more humble and plain.

The two churches face each other.

Where the Badlanders played.

A couple rustic cabins.

When playgrounds were metal.

Rolling badlands make a picturesque backdrop.

This was home.

Witness to many community functions.

Looking out on the past.

From the valley top, this model railway-like view.