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 Ponoka is situated in the meandering Battle River valley in Alberta’s scenic agricultural heartland, just off Highway 2 between Edmonton and Calgary.
The community began over a century ago as a delivery point along the Calgary-Edmonton Trail, an age-old Native trail adopted by early fur traders and settlers and still followed by motorists on Highway 2A. The railway’s arrival in 1891 brought settlers from eastern Canada and the American midwest to the promising townsite then simply known as “Siding 14.”
The founding of Alberta’s first sanitarium in 1912 kick-started Ponoka’s growth into an important service centre for the agriculture and petroleum industries. Today, a blend of historic building styles is the unique legacy of the town’s evolution. These range from quaint “boomtown front” stores to the landmark Ponoka Provincial Building designed by the internationally renowned architect Douglas Cardinal. Ponoka’s historic downtown is now being restored through the Alberta Main Street Program.
The Fort Ostell Museum, named after the local Hudson’s Bay Company fur trading post, offers an engaging look into Ponoka’s history. Other attractions include the Cowboy Museum, the weekly Farmers’ Market and the annual County Fair.
Main Street office open weekdays 8:30-4:30. 5102-48 Avenue, Ponoka. . Email: Web site: http://www.telusplanet.net/~ponoka/
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