Beiseker is a village in Alberta, Canada. It is approximately 70 kilometres (40 miles) north-east of
Calgary. It is considered to be an outermost part of the Greater Calgary Area, and is surrounded by the MD of Rockyview #44. The population in 2004 was approximately 900.
History
Lying in a belt of rich black soil, Beiseker was developed as an agricultural service centre. It was founded by the Calgary Colonization Company whose purpose was to promote settlement by demonstrating the grain growing potential of the area. The Village name comes from Thomas Beiseker, one of the partners of the Company. Initial colonization took place in 1908 when the company recruited a number of German settlers from the Great Plains of the Dakotas.
The Village began to grow in 1910 when the branch line of the CPR was completed. The CNR line was constructed in 1912 to the east of the Central Business district. With the construction and intersection of Highways 9, 72 and 806 at the northeast edge of the Village, Beiseker came to have a very favourable location in terms of road and rail access. Since it is located almost equidistant from Calgary and Drumheller, Beiseker began to emerge as a local service and trade centre for the surrounding rural agricultural area. Village status was achieved in 1921.
The surrounding area's great potential for grain-growing is shown by Beiseker's status as "World Wheat King Capital", or as a top producing area of wheat.
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