Rollag: From Plains to Subdivision

Whitney family and friends in front of their home on 28th Street South, 1907.
Image courtesy the Galt Museum & Archives | Akaisamitohkanao’pa, 19760208116.

The Whitney residence, c. 1910.
Image courtesy the Galt Museum & Archives | Akaisamitohkanao’pa, 19760208137.

While a relatively young city, Lethbridge’s history is unique in the way it surrounds us even today. It is easy for any historical organization to speak about buildings that used to be, or practices that were once in place; it’s another thing entirely to walk up to these buildings or continue these lines of work. While industries like coal mining are seen far less today, other fields—particularly the agricultural kind—define our region today as thoroughly as they used to. The past runs through any city’s veins; in Lethbridge’s case, it doubles as its face.

Rollag, a small neighbourhood now considered to occupy the area between 28 Street S to 30 Street S and 27 Avenue S to 28 Avenue S, is a shining example of this. The community was initially separate from Lethbridge altogether, with most of its land used for homesteading. “This small residential neighbourhood” wrote one government employee in 1980, “seems to be isolated from the rest of the city.” Unlike newer developments, remnants of this subdivision’s rural history are difficult to miss even today.

While Rollag was officially incorporated into Lethbridge in 1984, the transition was far from seamless. Complaints about the gravel roads and general lack of service was a common complaint well into the 1990s, with the Lethbridge Herald referring to Rollag as a “piece of the country within city limits” in 1994.

One of Rollag’s most notable pieces of history is the Whitney House on 28th Street South. Farmer and real estate dealer David J. Whitney purchased 470 acres of the land in 1903 with his wife, Nancy. The farm (often referred to as “Ideal Farm”) was a success of agricultural experimentation and development, and was often used for promoting the city. Whitney was at one point awarded the prize for best shelterbelt in Alberta! A significant portion of this land was later sold to the Lethbridge Junior College (now Lethbridge College), which remains in use.

The Whitney couple’s home was built on their Lethbridge farmstead in 1904 (“fitted up with all modern improvements, including hot and cold flowing water,” according to a 1909 Herald article). Having moved from Kingston, Ontario, their house closely resembled the architecture that was fashionable out east at the time, such as its brick patten—though these characteristics were almost never seen in Alberta! Much of the home’s exterior remains the same as when it was built, and a plaque is now in place to denote its significance.

For more information on Lethbridge’s historic neighbourhoods, or to find archival documentation on your home, visit galtmuseum.com/research.