Who We Are

The Lethbridge Historical Society serves the area from Nanton south to the United States border.

The Lethbridge Branch of the Historical Society of Alberta was first formed in 1888 as a Scientific and Historical Society. This group met bi-monthly where “papers” were read. The Society disappeared in the 1890’s and then in 1923, due to the community’s concern for marking the memory of Nicholas Sheran and other early mining pioneers, the Historical Society was reorganized. It disappeared again in 1928 but was resurrected in 1935 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Lethbridge. When the successful celebration ended, so did the historical organization.

In 1958, the Lethbridge City Council took the lead to get a Society organized as they were concerned at the lack of a museum and archives in the city and felt an historical society was the logical group to undertake development of such a facility. The Society was registered as The Whoop-Up Country Chapter of the Historical Society of Alberta. The organization was active in the Museum’s development and its operation until 1972 when it became too much for volunteers to operate and manage.

In 1986 the Society felt that it should be reincorporated as a chapter of the Historical Society of Alberta. Our name changed to Lethbridge Historical Society at that time.

The Lethbridge Historical Society maintains a working relationship with the Galt Museum & Archives. The Society maintains an office and its book inventory at the museum and many of our members volunteer there on a regular basis.

​What We Offer

A chance to learn southern Alberta history

Our regular general meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday in September, October, January, March, and April. After the business is done we have a presentation about an aspect of local history from one of our members.

A chance to meet others who love history as much as you do

A chance to contribute

We offer opportunities for folks to get involved with local history. Whether that’s photographing local landmarks, giving presentations around town, writing segments for our newsletter, or other things that you might be interested in, there’s lots to do and we’d love to have you with us!

A chance to advocate

We take local history very seriously and we have been very active in pushing for greater local recognition and promotion of our history through official plaques, through recognizing the buildings that have special significance to the community, and working to protect and publicize our history in the community. You can be a part of this important work with us.

A chance to be part of history

A chance to get out and see history

We organize several tours throughout the year to focus on different aspects of our history. From walking tours to beer and history tours, there’s lots to learn and share with each other.

The Society’s annual general meeting is held on the 4th Tuesday in November. Admission to these meetings is free.

We also publish Occasional Papers which you can check out by clicking the button below.

Board of Directors 2024–2025

• President Lorien Johansen

• Past President Belinda Crowson

• Vice-President Robert Oakley

• Secretary Bobbie Fox

• Treasurer Hope Wiebe

• Christie Thacker (2025)

• Heather Martin-Detka (2026)

• Susan Jefferson (2026)

• Kristin Krein (2026)

• Taylor DeBoer (2026)

• Evan Grover (2027)

• Tyler Gschaid (2027)

• Jeremy McPherson (2027)

Executive Appointed Positions

• Newsletter Editor Heather Martin-Detka

• Social Media Admin and Website: Bobbie Fox and Taylor DeBoer

• Heritage Advisory Committee Delegate: Susan Jefferson

• Scrapbook Editor and Historian: 

• Heart of the City Committee Delegate: Lorien Johansen

• Book Sales & Distribution: Robert Oakley

Partnerships

The Lethbridge Historical Society is always eager to work with partner organizations and share our knowledge, expertise and resources with others in the community. We work with the Galt Museum & Archives on exhibits including Places and Traces: Our Neighbourhoods and The Way We Worked. We partner with the Business Revitalization Zone on downtown tours, like our popular Beer & History Tour. We work with the City of Lethbridge to mount plaques around the city recognizing important locations, events and individuals. We also provide a local historian’s perspective on the Heart of our City committee, the Historic Place Advisory committee, and our members are asked to present in the Alex Johnston Lecture Series. We are also currently working on a project with Melcor Developments in Legacy Ridge.