Granum, Alberta

The community originally incorporated as the Village of Leavings on July 12, 1904.^[6] It was named The Leavings as it was the site on Willow Creek west of Pultney siding where the old Bull-team Freighters stopped for water and to unload freight.^[7] Predating the railroads, it was where a trail left a river and travellers were reminded to bring water.^[8] Leavings changed its name to Granum on March 31, 1908 and then incorporated as a town on November 7, 1910.^[6] At a population of 447, Granum was Alberta's smallest town as of the 2016 census.^[9] It dissolved from town status to become a hamlet under the jurisdiction of the Municipal District of Willow Creek No. 26 on February 1, 2020.^[2]

Granum is located on the edge of the prairie and the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Viewable from the community are the mountains of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park to the south, of the Crowsnest Pass to the west, and of Kananaskis Country to the northwest.^{[citation needed]}

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Granum had a population of 557 living in 190 of its 204 total private dwellings, a change of 37.2% from its 2016 population of 406. With a land area of 1.89 km² (0.73 sq mi), it had a population density of 294.7/km² (763.3/sq mi) in 2021.^[3]

As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Granum had a population of 406 living in 199 of its 206 total private dwellings, a -9.2% change from its 2011 population of 447. With a land area of 1.91 km² (0.74 sq mi), it had a population density of 212.6/km² (550.5/sq mi) in 2016.^[9]

Historical newspapers

• Granum Times [1908 & 1928–1930]
• Granum Press [1909–1910] – Published and edited by John M. Millar^[10]
• Granum News [1911-1912 & 1917–1918]
• Granum Herald [1918–1919]
• Granum Advertiser [1920–1921] – Published and edited by John H. Salton^[10]

• List of communities in Alberta
• List of former urban municipalities in Alberta
• List of hamlets in Alberta