Southern Alberta was, and still is, a ranching country, with millions of acres of grasslands providing pasture for hungry cattle. Many ranches were established in the province beginning in the 1880s, and cowboys were hired to help take care of the cattle, horses, and other livestock.
They branded animals in the spring and took part in huge fall round-ups. They lived in bunk-houses and tents, ate chuckwagon grub, were expert horsemen (some joined the rodeo circuit), and spent much of their lives in the saddle.
Enjoy this selection of cowboy photographs, dating from the late 19th to early 20th centuries.
Calgary Cowboys, Alberta, 1883
Group at Medicine Hat, Alberta, 1885
Boy in his cowboy outfit, 1888
Branding at the OH Ranch corrals, near High River, Alberta, 1892
‘Bachelor’s Hall’, interior view of a bunkhouse on a Southern Alberta ranch, 1894
Roping a heifer for spaying on ranch, Maple Creek area, Saskatchewan, 1897
Bruce and Jim Hunter in homestead shack, Dog Pound area, Alberta, 1897
Cowboys stretching a steer at round-up, Maple Creek area, Saskatchewan, 1897
Bar U Ranch cowboys, general round-up, southern Alberta, May 31, 1901.
Bar U Ranch cowboys, general round-up, southern Alberta, May 31, 1901
Cowboy riding a bucking bronco on Billy Cochrane’s CC Ranch, Mosquito Creek, Alberta, 1901
Riders of southern Alberta round-up, 1901
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