Queenstown, Alberta
Queenstown is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within Vulcan County. It is located approximately south of Highway 1 and southeast of Calgary.
History
The locality was founded in 1888 by surveyor and land promoter Edward Dawson. Edward Dawson had come to the Queenstown area when he surveyed it as part of the Dominion Land Survey.Returning to England, he formed the Queenstown Colonization Company and announced he would found a new settlement that would be named Queenstown.
Dawson rented sixteen sections of land at Queenstown and built the first house there. The venture ran into misfortune, a prairie fire and then an epidemic of Glanders amongst the horses. He died at Edmonton in 1901.
Despite the early misfortunes, the small townsite continued to develop, with the construction of the Queenstown Hotel and the establishment of several ranches in the area.