Settlement of Cardston, Canada

 Cardston, Canada LDS Temple

Card Family Homestead, Cardston, Canada

Two years after the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was organized, missionaries were sent into the eastern part of Canada, at which time many were converted. However, it was not until 1886 that a group of Latter-day Saints journeyed to Canada, this time the southwestern section, in search of a locality in which they could establish new homes. The man chosen to lead this mission was Charles Ora Card, who found southern Alberta a most inviting place, when he camped at the mouth of Lee's Creek on October 24, 1886. By the late 80's nearly 300 Saints had followed and rounded a settlement which they named Cardston.

Among the settlers was an Apostle of the Church, John W. Taylor, and from his history we read that he made a prophetic utterance, "This land will yet become a breadbasket to the world; and in this land a temple shall be reared to the worship of Almighty God...." One of the first sights to be designated by the Latter-day Saints of western Canada was an eight-acre tabernacle square which was given to the Church by Charles Ora Card in 1887. On July 27, 1913, President Joseph F. Smith dedicated this tabernacle square as the future temple site. On November 9, 1913, the breaking of the ground for erection of the temple took place when Daniel Kent Greene turned the first furrow of sod.

In September of the next year, the laying of the cornerstone was conducted by David O. McKay, then a member of the Twelve Apostles. During the exercises a copper sealed box containing a set of Church books, a history of the Mormons in Cardston, photographs, and several coins was placed within the hollowed stone. The finished building was dedicated August 26, 1923, by President Heber J. Grant. Harold W. Burton was the supervising architect.

As one approaches the town of Cardston from any direction, the large white straight lines of the temple, which is built upon a rise of ground, is the first object that attracts the eyes. This temple, constructed in the form of a maltese cross, built of light gray granite from the quarries at Nelson, British Columbia, 200 miles distant, is 118 feet square and 110 feet high. The approach from the west leads up broad granite steps to large ornamental steel gates. On one of the walls is an artistic frieze of cast concrete depicting the Savior offering the woman of Samaria living water, as He greets her at the well. That such a building should have been erected in 35 years, where previously an almost uninhabited prairie had existed, speaks well for these pioneers who are classed by Canadian officials as being among the most progressive colonists in the British Dominion in America. The erection of the Canadian Temple cost about $1,000,000 including the interior furnishings and landscaping.

In 1901, President Joseph F. Smith called Edward J. Wood to proceed to Cardston, Canada on a special mission in the interest of the Mutual Improvement Association. He responded and was so deeply impressed with the Canadian country and the new settlements there, that he decided to make his home in Alberta. President Edward J. Wood was set apart as the President of the Temple by President Heber J. Grant on the day of its dedication August 26, 1923.

Our Pioneer Heritage, Volume 14, Mormon Temples, A Temple in Canada, Christian Chistianson Handcart Company, via Ancestry.com

Second Source:  Our Pioneer Heritage, Volume 18, Origin of Mormon Place Names

The first settlement, Cardston was so named for its founder, Charles Ora Card, the region being on Lee's Creek, on the southern boundary of the Blood Indian Reserve. The colony was sustained that first year by good crops. There was very little money among the people, so these pioneers had to depend entirely upon the land. Wood was obtained along the valleys of Lee's Creek; then a vein of coal was discovered four miles from the settlement. By the end of summer, each family had its pioneer home built of logs, sometimes plastered in and out with mud. Only rough lumber was available for the flooring; other necessities such as doors, windows, tar paper and nails had to be purchased in Lethbridge.

According to Archie G. Wilcox, no one felt self-conscious about the crudeness of either his home or its furnishings because everyone was experiencing the same difficulties. The settler built his own table, benches, stools, washbench and cupboards. The bed frame was constructed of peeled poles and nailed to the wall. When bed springs were available these were placed on top the frame and in other cases a mattress of straw was used. The larger families found it necessary to put extra mattresses on the floor at night and pile them up on the bed during the daytime. Three coal oil cases, two on end and one across the top, served the purposes of a dressing table. Covered with curtain material and a scarf, this could be made quite an attractive piece of furniture. Tallow candles, coal oil lamps and various toilet articles were placed on the vanity and a mirror was nailed to the wall above the table. Large packing cases fitted with shelves and lined with paper, made useful cupboards when fastened to the wall in a convenient place. The wood stoves usually had four holes and a wide, removable hearth which covered the ashpan. The oven doors swung out and were fastened with a latch. Reservoirs and warming ovens were conspicuously absent. With their iron teakettles, iron pots and skillets, bake ovens and sheet-iron dripping pans, the Mormon women were able to prepare such tempting things as salt rising bread, graham gems, corn meal Johnny cake, pancakes, buttermilk or baking powder biscuits and others. Of course, this was only temporary equipment which, in most cases, was replaced within two years by more useful furniture and utensils.