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1902 Stained Glass Windows


In the late 19th and early 20th century, demand for electricity in Edmonton was growing exponentially, and the Edmonton Electric Lighting & Power Company found itself scrambling to keep up with demand. By 1914, plans were already being drawn up to tear down the 1902 Rossdale Power Plant built only a dozen years earlier in order to construct a newer, larger plant. As it happens, the Great War happened, and the nation's focus turned to the conflict in Europe, temporarily staving off demolition. Nonetheless, rarely was any thought given to storing & preserving anything from those early days in the headlong rush to embrace new technologies and build new capacity. Consequently, very little survives from those times except photographs.

Of notable exception are the arched, stained-glass windows from the 1902 Rossdale Power Plant. When the power plant was finally razed, a farmer from the Namao area was able to scavenge some of the used bricks, and four of the plant's stained-glass windows. These windows then languished in the loft of a barn until the turn of the 21st century, when the current owners decided to auction off much of the farm's content. Through a turn of events that can only be described as serendipitous, a retired Edmonton Power employee noticed the windows in a flyer for the auction, and contacted EPHF. Too late for the auction, the EPHF located the buyer, a local antique store, but, sadly, they had already been sold on. But karma intervened once again, and a week later the antique dealer contacted EPHF offering two of the windows. This time there was no hesitation, the windows were collected, and eventually permanently mounted in the brick partition wall in the EPHF museum.

These two windows are the oldest artefacts in the collection that connect directly to Edmonton's early history of electricity generation, and are now proudly & prominently displayed, original and unrestored in our museum.


Author: ephf

Edmonton Power Historical Foundation is a non-profit society dedicated to preserving the history of electric power in the City of Edmonton and the Province of Alberta, for the education and entertainment of current and future generations.

Edmonton Power Historical Foundation

Hours of operation 2023

We are located on the grounds of the Leduc West Antique Museum. Travel 5 miles west of Leduc on Highway 39. Go north on Range Road 260 (Cohne Dale Road) for about a mile and the museum will be on your right. The museum is closed for the winter, however we are looking forward to opening our doors on May 27 for the Leduc West Antique Society Spring Swap Meet, Tractor Pull & Music Series. Featured will be all manner of vendor tables, displays, tours, and the first Tractor Pull of the season. In the evening the first concert of the Music Series will feature "Prairie Sky" on stage.
July 22 & 23 is theLWAS Annual Exposition, the biggest event of the year which will include public tours, exhibits, a parade of antique vehicles, and a Tractor Pull; on Saturday evening the Music Series will feature "The Jivin' Belles" performing songs heavily influenced by close harmony groups of the 40's like the Andrews Sisters.
September 9 & 10, the final event of the summer season is the Fall Harvest event… with public tours, exhibits and the Tractor Pull Provincial Finals event. The final music performance of the season will feature “Celtera” and as their name implies is steeped in the music from the Emerald Isle and Scotland.

 

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