Seebe Dam Alberta ( Alberta Places )

Seebe,  Alberta  ( Alberta Places )

Written by : Jeffrey R Hilton

Seebe is a former hamlet in southern Alberta,  located on highway 1A West of Calgary
adjacent to Seebe Dam on the south side of the Bow River.  The former hamlet's existence,  owed to being set up for Calgary Power Company Limited for the purpose of housing some of it's employees.   The town site is closed now, and in it's last days,  it boasted no more than one small building that contained a post office,  general store,   and a cafe.   At one time,  Seebe was an important technical hub for remotely controlling 6 or more,  important water sheds.  Drainage from Lake Minewanka,  Spray River,  Ghost River,  Kananaskis River,  the Brazeau and even the North Saskatchewan River.  Seebe,  is a Cree word for river,  and across the river from Seebe is the Stony Indian Reserve.  Seebe is just downstream from the confluence of the Bow and Kananaskis,   rivers at Kananaskis Falls.  The Dam at Horseshoe Falls down stream was built first in 1911,  while Seebe Dam itself was built in 1913 and then expanded in 1951. The dam at Kananaskis Falls was built in 1929.       

From September 29 1939 to January 28 1946,  there was a prisoner of war camp situated at Seebe that housed up to 200 inmates.  The camp was known as,   POW Camp No. 130.

Locals referred to it as " Camp-Kan-A-Nazi"   ( See Picture Of Camp Below  )  and it must have been a fairly nice camp to be in,  as far as POW camps go.  The view of both Mount Yamnuska and,   Pigeon Mountain are fabulous from Seebe.  

Seebe,  at one time in the 70s and 80s was a magnet for Calgarians and nearby residents to swim,  picnic,  BBQ,    cliff dive and party.  Access was by driving over the dam on the flimsy access road perched on top of the dam which when finally closed,  spelled the end to a lot of fun and a great place to go on a summer day.  Fishermen are a common sight there still and cliff divers still frequent the place now as they did back then.  There was even a waterfall you could sit under or in and it was warm as the sun shone on the shallow water  before making it's way over the gentle falls.  Broken glass became a big issue at one time and the carelessness and disrespect for the land,  probably speeded up it's demise.     

SEEBE WWII POW CAMP

A few movies have filmed scenes at Seebe. Kevin Costner's movie "Open Range" was filmed on the Stony land across the river in 2003 while Seebe was still inhabited.  A scene from " Broke Back Mountain" was also filmed there.  A proposal was made for sizable redevelopment of the former town site in,  2006-7,  but I don't think it ever got anywhere.  For now Seebe will remain quiet and nature will go on thriving in the area undeterred by much presence of man.  Evidence of it's interesting past is slowly disappearing,  so let this post stand as a historical record of it's past glory.  

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Jeffrey R Hilton