Shannon house to sarsons’ home

The year 1890 marked the beginning of the settlement, which became the town of Olds. In July of that year, contracts were let for the construction of a railroad from Calgary to Edmonton. When the rail line reached the sixth siding out of Calgary (Olds), a section foreman named David Shannon arrived on an open handcar. Mr. Shannon, an across Canada to the driving of the Golden Spike at Craigellachie, B.C. in 1885. At the Sixth Siding Mr. Shannon provided living quarters for his family and established squatters rights to a quarter section of land. This gained for them the distinction of being the earliest residents of Olds. Mr. David Shannon Jr. once said that his mother, Mary, was the first white woman to come to Olds.
On July 27, 1891 the first through train made the trip from Calgary to south Edmonton. That same month the Canada Pacific Railway took over the operation of the C&E Railway. A committee of CPR officials, charged with selecting names for the points along the line, suggested "Shannon" but this honour was declined by Mr. Shannon and the town site was named for a CPR Traffic manager, Mr. George Olds instead.
When the survey was done of the land adjacent to the rail line, it was discovered that the Shannon quarter was needed for the town site. A trade was arranged for a quarter section half mile to the north. The Shannon family moved from their sod shack into the completed station house sometime prior to October 1891. Later the family moved to a log house on their homestead. This was subsequently sold to the Hammer family for a school. Mr. Shannon and son Martin then built this home of dressed lumber, which he hauled from Calgary. It was not until 1910 that the large eight-room house on the east side of the north railway crossing became the Shannon family residence.
The most prominent names in connection with large construction jobs in early Olds were Willard Brockway and the Shannons. David Shannon Sr. and his sons, Martin, James and David Jr., were chiefly house builders and their work filled a complete block west from the Olds Hotel corner (50th Street East). David Shannon Sr. did stone masonry
on the Victoria hotel in 1906. Martin Shannon worked on much of the original construction of the Olds School of Agriculture, including the Main Building, the barns, the Farm Manager's house and the dormitory. He helped with the brick telephone office in 1920 and worked for contractors who were brought in to do most of rebuilding of the stores on Main Street, after the fire in 1922. David Shannon Sr. was also an expert dynamite man.
The home became a home base for priests in the early years. St. Stephen's Catholic Church dates back to 1946. The known history of the Catholic worship in Olds goes back to 1838. Fathers Blanchette and Demers, on their way to what is now British Columbia, paved the way. Most notably to come to the Olds area is Father Lacombe. His first known visit was made shortly after the railroad went through Olds. It is known that he said Mass in the Shannon home. A visiting priest baptized the Shannon's daughter Maimie in 1891.
Maimie Shannon was born in October 1891 while the family lived in the station house. She was the first white baby to be born in Olds and was delivered by Dr. George of Innisfail. Maimie commenced duties with AGT as Olds' operator in May 1914, and was appointed Chief Operator in June 1920. She remained in that position until her
retirement. Maimie died in 1968
David Shannon Jr. was also born in Olds, the last of the six children. He started school in 1904 and left in 1912 to help his father run the farm, a half section, on which they had 200 head of cattle. Not able to earn enough to make things pay, they quit farming in 1925 to work with Martin.
The two Shannon brothers, Martin and Maurice, went to war in 1914. Maurice served with the CDN Expeditionary Force. He returned with a damaged foot and later worked for the CPR. As operator of the telegraph system, he conveyed reports of special events to the town's folk. He worked there until his retirement from Didsbury in 1959. It is also known that Maurice, along with Fred Duff, hauled hay from Reed Ranch east of Olds in 1916. The town was then called "The Hay City". Maurice was born November 12, 1893. The last of his siblings to pass away, he died in Calgary on November 30, 1993. He was 100 years old.
Prior to the first established postmaster, and before George Olds, Mrs. Shannon handled the mail at the CPR station. She was also a practical nurse. Mrs. Mary Shannon, "The First Lady of Olds", died on August 30, 1946.
All that is known about Hannah Shannon is that she was the dining room waitress in the Alberta Hotel early in the 1900's.
The Shannon home was owned solely by the family until the last member living in Olds, David Shannon Jr. died in 1991. It was then purchased by the Pederson family and after that sold and made into an antique store for several years. Paul and Yvonne Leussink then bought the property for commercial development. We in turn, bought the house and moved it to our acreage property, south east of Sundre in August 2003.
The house was moved by McCann Movers. They subsequently won an award for moving the 30ft. high structure. An article describing the move can be found in Volume 22, No. 2 June 2004 of the "Structural Mover"
magazine.