WEMBLEY

Located just 20 km west of Grande Prairie, Alberta, is the Town of Wembley, with a population of 1542 ( 2006 stats).

The centre of the action of this small town is main street. Main street includes the firehall, post office, hotel, hall, and convenience stores.

In 1911 the townsite of Lake Saskatoon came into existence and grew to more than 100 people. In 1924, the railway by-passed the village by 4 miles south causing many to move to this new community named Wembley. The name Wembley came from Wembley, England. It became a central area for farmers to haul their grain. Four elevators were built in 1924 to 1929.

The first post office was opened in 1924 with R.B. Sinclair, the first postmaster.

Historically Wembley was the starting point of the Edson Trail from Grande Prairie north.

Wembley reached village status in 1928. George Finch was Wembley's first mayor. It wasn't until 1957 that water and sewer services were introduced. In the early 1970's the Agriculture Society was formed with the purpose of getting a RecPlex Facility for the area. Besides the arena, it also had a curling rink, and recreation park with ball diamonds and tennis courts.

August 1, 1980 Wembley was granted Town Status (population 1119) and that same year, the streets of Wembley were paved. A new post office was built in 1981. Wembley is part of the County of Grande Prairie.

Wembley has had it share of fires that changed the look of this small town, dating back to 1933 when the Wembley Flour Mill and Pool Room burned down. In 1950 a garage shop, meat market, shoe repair shop, pool room and general store all burned. 1953, the pool hall and cafe burned and in 1979, the Wembley General Store burned down. Wembley did get their own fire truck in the mid sixties and was able to control any fires much better. Today there are 15 volunteer firemen with a Firehall. (enlarge picture Wembley FireHall)

Wembley is a quiet town that functions as a bedroom community for the City of Grande Prairie. The Town of Wembley continues to grow with the construction of new houses and new areas being developed.

Wembley Minor Hockey (780) 766-3975.

Schools:
The first school was established in 1917 near Wembley known as Hillhead School. It was eventually moved into Wembley in 1925.

Today there are two schools in Wembley. Helen E. Taylor, Grades 4-9. (780) 766-2294. School website
Wembley Elementary, Kindergarten to Grade 3. (780) 766-2294. High School kids are transported to Beaverlodge to further their education.

Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum (River of Death Discovery Dinosaur Museum)
A multimillion-dollar dinosaur museum was proposed for Pipestone Creek Park, 17 km south of Wembley. The site was later found to be unstable so another location had to be found. In March 2010 County Councillor and Museum Society Chair Jack O'Toole, announced the location for the River of Death Discovery Dinosaur Museum would be east of the Wembley entrance along Highway 43 at a cost of over 26 million dollars. In April 2011 the name of the museum was changed to Philip Currie Dinosaur Museum. Currie has been involved with the Royal Tyrrel Museum in Drumheller and over the last 25 years has been involved with the Pipestone Creek bone bed.

VIDEOS	VIDEOS	PHOTOS
VIDEO - NEWS	VIDEO - AREAS OF INTEREST	Dinosaur Museum - Officials
PREMIER in Wembley (July 2010) PLAY > -3:40 min	DINOSAUR BONES Pipestone Creek AB (Speaker Dr Currie) PLAY > -3:50 min
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