A free evening walk through Sherwood Heights on July 16 offers a look back at the very beginnings of Sherwood Park. The Strathcona County Museum & Archives leads the 2.5-kilometre guided tour starting at 7 p.m. from its Ash Street home.
Sherwood Heights is Sherwood Park’s oldest neighbourhood. It began as Campbelltown, a hamlet planned by developers John Hook Campbell and John Mitchell in 1953. The name changed to Sherwood Park in 1956 after Canada Post flagged too many other Campbelltowns in the country.
The tour route winds past the intersection of Conifer Street and Birch Avenue, where the first four model homes opened to the public in September 1955. Gordon Walker and his family moved in that December, becoming Campbelltown’s very first residents. Museum educator D’Anneka van der Put and her team share these stories and more during the hour-long walk.
Participants should register ahead of time through the museum. The event runs rain or shine, and comfortable shoes are a good idea, as some ground may be uneven. Organizers remind everyone to dress for the weather.
The museum building itself carries history. Before housing exhibits in 1997, the structure served as a fire hall from 1959. It was once home base for the “Red Hot Mommas,” a volunteer crew of housewives who stepped in to fight fires while men worked at nearby refineries.
The community’s design drew inspiration from post-war Levittown suburbs, offering a quieter life away from Edmonton. Today, Sherwood Park remains one of Canada’s largest hamlets, and its story begins in the streets of Sherwood Heights.
