When the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway came through, it set up townsites about every seven miles or so. So on that line, you have (east to west) Watrous, Xena, Young, and Zelma. Then you start all over with Allen, Bradwell, and Clavet. A logical approach. (I think Mr. Spock would be pleased.)
The townsite was set aside in 1907. The last building in Xena was torn down in 1970, so the place is long gone. It had a grain elevator, for collecting and shipping grain from around the area, but never a Post Office. And that's all the information I can find on the history of Xena.
X is also for xylophone, Xerxes, x-ray, xanthous, and xeogenesis.
Blessings and Bear hugs, everyone.
Addendum
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| Tennis, any . . . er, um, well; I don't suppose a net is absolutely essential. Right? |
Really? I absolutely love little factoids like this. A town that doesn't exist! Cool.
ReplyDeleteAnd you could even be the mayor, if you wanted to be. Well, sort of. But not quite as exciting as Living during the Manhunt in Watertown. Well-written piece.
DeletePeace and joy!
Bears Noting
Hmmm very interesting...I had no idea that there was a community called Xena way back when! Thanks for enlightening me my friend!
ReplyDeleteShannon at I Survived and Now I Run
We've got a lot of "ghost towns" up here. Uneventful in a lot of ways.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Places that disappear are interesting. If I went to the site of the former town, maybe I would disappear. hmmmmm . . .
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Lots of places have "interesting" histories. But I do't think Xena would be a place to disappear. It's not the Twilight Zone — at least I don't think it is.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Well, will wonders never cease? I didn't know about the town of Xena before today. And now I guess I can forget it, huh? :-)
ReplyDeleteWonders never cease; learning, likewise. Or at least learning opportunities.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
I'm surprised you even found it all
ReplyDeleteThanks for coming by, Ida, and leaving a note. I've driven past the place a few times, so I know it's out there.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
What a delightful post. Very interesting information. I love finding out new things, especially from such a friendly bear.
ReplyDeleteOne never quite knows what one will find when one starts exploring the "neighbourhood." So to speak. Glad you had fun and learned something.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (That's my poetry blog)
That's very interesting. I like little interesting facts like that.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the vignette.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
I wonder how the townspeople came up with the name?
ReplyDeleteActually, Susan, the townspeople didn't; the Railway company did. It needed a name which began with an X, to keep its alphabet of towns going. If you're going to function with the precision of an old-stye railway, consistency becomes imperative. Or so it appears.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (That's my poetry blog)
Very cool! Sounds like it has become quite the ghost town, if it was ever much of a town at all.
ReplyDeleteKathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com
I don't know very much about it; there is almost no information about the town. A place that lasted maybe three generations. Very strange.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (That's my poetry blog)
This reminds me of the towns in Massachusetts that were flooded to form the Quabbin resevoir. People still refer to the areas as if the towns were there.
ReplyDeleteThe towns are still there, Zoe. They're just buried under water.
DeleteWith the ongoing expansions of the St. Lawrence Seaway, I know of one town in Ontario which was flooded during my lifetime. They even dug up the bodies in the cemetery and moved them to the new community site. That's called paying attention to detail.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (That's my poetry blog)
I love these interesting tidbits of info. This is the kind of stuff I would never hear about on my own. Very interesting.
ReplyDelete#atozchallenge, Kristen's blog: kristenhead.blogspot.com
Thanks, Kristen. Actually those bits are easy to find. All you have to do is sniff around a bit. Oh, I forgot; your a human. Humans don't have keen noses, like Bears. And sniffing the air would look pretty silly for a human. So, I'll keep doing the homework for both of us.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (My poetry blog)
I've always been interested in ghost towns. They get me brainstorming for new story ideas. :)
ReplyDeleteWho lived here? What did she do, he do? Were there any scandals? Any big fires? Who ruled the church, and the Masonic Lodge? So many questions one could ask. i'm with you on that. Thanks.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (My poetry blog)
There are quite a few small towns like Xena in Utah. My brother-in-law is from one of them--it's sort of a ghost town really.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a common phenomenon on any frontier. Boom, then bust. Thanks for sharing, Julia.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (That's my poetry blog)
I once had a friend named Xena. I always suspected it was one she chose for herself rather than her birth name.
ReplyDeleteLife is about choice. If you don't like the name your parents gave you, change it. Our daughter did. (Only a minor change.)
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (My poetry blog)
At first I thought you meant Zena Warrior - remember that tv show? sandie
ReplyDeleteI remember those shows. Based on a Greek-age culture and Greek mythology. And her name was spelled Xena; she was the female Hercules of the time. The same person the Railway chose for the name of the station/community.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (That's my poetry blog)
x-words are hard to come by, and by George, you came by one I'd never heard of!
ReplyDeleteHugs,
J.
Finding X-words is pretty easy. All you need is a dictionary and/or an inquiring mind. Mine sometimes goes on excursions of several days, leaving me brainless at home.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (My poetry blog)
Brainless...I know better than that, Bear!
DeleteWell, um, Jackie, it's like — well, sorta like — the guy who was so open-minded that his brain fell out. (I think I talked about that earlier.) It's a bit like that, but different. It's . . . oh never mind. The whole process is way too complicated for a Bear to understand, or explain.
DeleteBlessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (My poetry blog)
Watrous, Xena and Zelma are great names for towns. Does the Grand Trunk Railway still run, or did the town disappear because the train stopped coming through?
ReplyDeleteOff to look up xeogenesis now...
Thanks for visiting, and leaving your note, Kern.
DeleteThe Grand Trunk Pacific defaulted on its loans to the government in 1919; it was nationalized and named the Canadian National Railway (CNR). The CNR also included some smaller rail companies which also defaulted. It was government owned until 1995, when it was privatized. Trains still run along the tracks on the CN western main line, which includes the towns mentioned.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (My poetry blog)
It was the aliens. They ate Xena.
ReplyDeleteSigh.
Oh, and Evil Twin was hoping to see a bear playing a xylophone!
The aliens ate Xena? Good grief; another conspiracy theory. What next?
DeleteEvil Twin may have to wait a while to see Bear with xylophone. First, I'll get a smartphone.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (My poetry blog)
x is a tough letter, u are doing great!
ReplyDeletelooking back, i plan to post a couple of spring pics
and i dont think online friends are virtual either!
thanks for visiting so often! i will be more consistent after this crazymonth!
Thanks for dropping by, tara, my non-virtual friend! It's sunny and warm in the land of the Bear, meaning 5°C (or 41F). Which is truly beautiful weather after six months of winter. (Yes; six months. It got a bit tedious after a while.)
DeleteAfter the unusual month of A-Z posting, I expect most of us will return to something a bit saner. Posting every day is a challenge, but I find the longer I make it part of my daily routine, the easier it is to do. Which strikes me as both strange and not so strange.
Blessings and Bear hugs!
Bears Noting
Life in the Urban Forest (My poetry blog)
As you saw, I also did my post on Xena. I agree with you that what started out as a fun challenge quickly became a daily grind. This was my third year and I wasn't as prepared as in the past...for me the key was to keep at least a few days ahead and that did not happen this year!
ReplyDeleteAre you going to participate next year?