Archive

Historic photographs, newspaper reports, postal history and community records, with preserved local copies and source attribution.

Browse source records by subject: People & families or Places & buildings. Combine a subject with a record type or keyword to find photographs, newspaper reports and other evidence.

Explore the illustrated history: the 1912 land rush, district schools, community life, the highway opening in 1964, the border cairn in 1974 and John’s Hardware in 1979.

Del Bonita Historical Buildings brings together the Fisher home and stores, John’s Hardware and Huey Gum Inn. Explore Fisher’s trucks, 1929 or 1930, a January 1942 store bill, and the 1978 landowners map.

The photograph records include Galt Museum & Archives’ descriptions, dates, accession numbers and creator credits. Each offers our unchanged image copy, the original asset and catalogue URLs, and downloadable provenance in Markdown and JSON.

The collection also includes newspaper reports, postal history, government records and local history books. Visit Books to explore Heritage of the High Country, the 1981 history of Del Bonita and surrounding districts, and find its digitized edition. Full source files are preserved separately with their retrieval dates and SHA-256 checksums. Captured websites have local replays, Markdown text and screenshots.

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43 source records

Photograph · 1912

Land Rush For Homesteads In Del Bonita Area, 1912

People queued at the Dominion Public Building to file for homesteads in the Del Bonita area. Galt dates this photograph to 1912.

Open record +Photograph · 1912

Line-Up To File Homesteads

People waiting at the Dominion Public Building on 1st Avenue South to file for homesteads in the Del Bonita area. Galt dates this photograph to 1912 and identifies police watching the crowd and automobiles in front. George Bruchet donated the photograph.

Open record +Newspaper · 1918-03-23

Shanks Lake School building tender

School District No. 3329 sought tenders for a schoolhouse on Section 2, Township 2, Range 21, west of the Fourth Meridian. Secretary-treasurer W. L. Baxter used a Del Bonita postal address.

Open record +Newspaper · 1924-04-11

Roads, a proposed bridge, and wheat-pool concerns

Page 5 reports a Del Bonita U.F.A. meeting and concerns about road access and wheat payments. Publication and meeting dates are separate.

Open record +Photograph · 1929 or 1930

Fisher with his trucks at the store, 1929 or 1930

Fisher with two trucks at his store, dated 1929 or 1930 by the book caption. A view of transport and the general-store business.

Open record +Newspaper · 1929-04-25

Huey Gum buys a Fareham lot

Gum bought a lot beside the proposed Woolford Mercantile premises at the Fareham railway terminus.

Open record +Newspaper · 1929-05-02

A Woolford restaurateur prepares for Fareham

The newspaper identifies Houie Gum as a Woolford restaurant keeper buying a restaurant site at Fareham.

Open record +Newspaper · 1929-06-13

Gum moves to his Fareham restaurant

The Woolford correspondent reports Gum moving to his restaurant at the Fareham terminal.

Open record +Photograph · Around the 1930s

The Fisher home with Reatha Fisher, around the 1930s

Reatha Fisher outside the building identified by the curator as the Fisher home. The book calls the scene “their store”; that original caption is retained in the provenance.

Open record +Photograph · 1930-06-28

Thomas Helgeson, Del Bonita Alberta

Thomas Helgeson of Del Bonita, photographed by de Jourdan's Studio Ltd. Galt dates the portrait to June 28, 1930.

Open record +Newspaper · 1930-10-02

Gum’s former Woolford restaurant is refitted

F. Tracy and his wife planned to operate a restaurant and confectionery business in Gum’s former Woolford premises.

Open record +Newspaper · 1930-12-12

Improvements to Gum’s Whiskey Gap premises

A local report records improvements to Gum’s premises at Whiskey Gap.

Open record +Newspaper · 1930-12-18

Huey Gum travels to China

Gum left for a several-month visit to China; Huey Foone operated the café during his absence.

Open record +Photograph · 1931

Shanks Lake School Children

Shanks Lake School pupils in 1931. Galt identifies Phil Hillmer, Keith Gibb, Don Gibb, John Gibb, Albert Hillmer, Merman Hillmer, Bertha and Myrtle Hillmer, and Mary Gibb. The museum credits the Del Bonita Historical Society and records Ernie Hillmer of Magrath as the owner of the original photograph.

Open record +Newspaper · 1937-11-05

A meal at Gum’s Whisky Gap restaurant

Gum appeared as a witness describing a customer’s October 21 visit. A sandwich and pie cost 30 cents.

Open record +Government record · 1938-08-11

Del Bonita designated a United States customs port, 1938

President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 7947 on August 9, 1938, designating Del Bonita, Montana, as a customs port in District No. 33. The order took effect thirty days later.

Open record +Photograph · 1939

Moving The del Bonita School

A 1939 photograph catalogued by Galt Museum & Archives as Moving The del Bonita School. The catalogue describes men moving, or preparing to move, the building to a centralized site.

Open record +Newspaper · 1939-07-14

Shanks Lake schoolhouse moved to Del Bonita

The Del Bonita column reports that the Shanks Lake schoolhouse had been moved to land north of the post office, purchased by St. Mary’s school division for a consolidated school.

Open record +Photograph · 1940–1978

Whiskey Gap station and grain elevators

Duel (J. J.) Secretan and Scotty Train outside the Canadian Pacific Railway station at Whiskey Gap, as identified by Galt Museum & Archives. Three grain elevators stand beyond the station.

Open record +Photograph · 1940–1978

Whiskey Gap

Duel (J. J.) Secretan and Scotty Train at the Canadian Pacific Railway station in Whiskey Gap. Galt lists the date range as 1940–1978 and describes the scene as circa 1978. The original photograph was owned by Robert and Olive Train of Magrath; the acquisition source was the Del Bonita Historical Society.

Open record +Document · January 1942

Fisher’s Store bill, January 1942

An itemized Fisher’s Store bill from January 1942, with a total of $3.85. Reproduced on page 219 of the community history.

Open record +Newspaper · 1945-11-02

The Harkers manage Del Bonita’s store and post office

Mr. and Mrs. G. Harker took over management on November 1, 1945. C. Collet retained ownership and his fuel business.

Open record +Photograph · 1950

Del Bonita post office, 1950

Del Bonita post office and general store. Date supplied by the journal.

Open record +Newspaper · 1950-01-07

Hubert West becomes postmaster

H. L. West bought the Del Bonita Trading Company and succeeded Collet as postmaster. The post office remained at the same location.

Open record +Newspaper · 1950-08-26

A farewell and volunteer work at the school and hall

Page 5 records a farewell for the Woods and earlier volunteer work. The article dates the labour to the preceding winter, not necessarily August 1950.

Open record +Newspaper · 1950-12-27

School concert at Del Bonita

Page 5 reports a school concert held on the preceding Friday. The publication date should not be presented as the performance date.

Open record +Photograph · 1953-07-27

Del Bonita

The post office and grocery store building on a street in Del Bonita, photographed by The Lethbridge Herald. Galt dates the photograph to July 27, 1953.

Open record +Photograph · 1958-01-15

Edward Newton In Del Bonita

Edward Newton in Del Bonita, photographed by The Lethbridge Herald. Galt dates the photograph to January 15, 1958.

Open record +Photograph · 1964-07-27

Magrath - Del Bonita Highway Opening

Officials cut the ribbon to open the Magrath–Del Bonita Highway. The Lethbridge Herald photograph is dated July 27, 1964 in the Galt catalogue.

Open record +Photograph · 1974

100 Years Of Peaceful Border Patrols

Royal Canadian Mounted Police and American Border Patrol members at a border cairn unveiling in 1974. Galt names Alva Bair and Lawrence Halmrast of Milk River as the builders and Albert and Bernice Robinson of Del Bonita as the owners of the original photograph.

Open record +Map · 1978

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