Rowley is a hamlet located in east-central Alberta, north of Drumheller. The official census lists the population of Rowley at 8!
Rowley dates from the early 1910s, when the railway came through. After the trains ceased to run through Rowley it more or less became a ghost town as people began to move away. Sometime in the mid-1970s the remaining locals came up with an idea to lure tourist dollars by promoting Rowley as an old “wild west” ghost town, and for the next 25 years they restored old homes and businesses. Soon visitors were attracted from all parts of Alberta, Canada and the U.S.
The grain elevators in these shots have been completely renovated and restored for tourism and heritage purposes. Part of Rowley’s charm is that while locals have spent thousands of dollars fixing up many of the old community’s homes and buildings to reflect the hamlet’s pioneer days, there are still many others left abandoned.
I took these shots on April 11, 2018.
