1

Bentley 1915
1915
Bentley, Alberta

Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

2

McPherson's house
Early 1900's
Bentley, Alberta

Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

3

McPhersons and Friends at the Calgary Fair
Early 1900's
Calgary, Alberta

Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

4

Creamery built by McPherson
Circa 1905
Bentley, Alberta

Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

5

Creamery built by the McPhersons - 1930
10 October 1930
Bentley, Alberta

Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

6

Bear shot by Mrs. Jabez McPherson(left) and Mrs. Whitezell(right)
Early 1900's
Bentley, Alberta

Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

7

McPherson's sawmill
Early 1900's
Bentley, Alberta

Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

8

First creamery built and run by J. Millar.
10 October 1906
Bentley, Alberta

Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

9

McPherson's Cheese Factory
1 October 1902
Bentley, Alberta

Credits:
Bentley Museum Society

10

The McPhersons
In 1899 Major William Burns McPherson left Wisconsin, USA and headed west. He was accompanied by his wife Emily , sons Charlie, Willie, Jamie, Jabez, Allan and daughters Marie and Sadie.
After filing on homesteads (Township 40, the present site of the Town of Bentley) in Calgary they made the journey to Bentley via train, horses and wagons, to embark on a new life. At this time, essential building supplies, groceries and mail were hauled from Lacombe to the east side of Gull lake, loaded on a steamer and carried over to Brownlow's Landing, whereupon they were picked up and delivered to Bentley. This was a much more practical way than the long trip around the south end of Gull Lake, because of the marshy terrain.
The junction of four of their quarter sections is now the cross roads of the Town of Bentley, at 50th Street and 50th Avenue. 50th Avenue was first known as McPherson Avenue and is a continuation of Highway 12 as it passes through the town. 50th Street is now Dick Damron Drive.
Being the entrepandre that he was it was very apparent to McPherson that a lumber mill was needed to handle the needs of this mew community. The McPherson Bros. Lumber Mill Co. was formed and a saw mill established in township 41 and operated by William and Jabez. This was the second lumber mill in Alberta at that time and they provided most of the lumber for the building of the village of Bentley. The mill turned out about 10,000 feet of planed lumber a day and this was hauled to Bentley and Eckville. They supplied lumber and bridge timbers for much of the area from Rimbey to Red Deer.
Major McPherson purchased the store and post office from Mr. Bentley. The family also participated in the construction and maintenance of the hotel which housed three McPherson families and a confectionery store and a pool hall. The McPhersons were active in all these goings on and had time to prove up their homesteads. In the winter Willie had twenty-five men on the woods crew and Jabez had an equal number of men on the mill crew. In the summer these fellows had time to do their farm work and improve their homesteads.
We should not forget the women during this time. They cooked for the lumber crews and one year they canned five hundred quarts of fruit, mainly wild berries. That's a lot of picking.
Mr. McPherson was never too busy to write in his daily journal. These journals are a treasure to his grandchildren as they carry Mr. McPherson's day to day record of this period at the turn of the century. He was very active in the process of Alberta becoming a province, travelling many times to Calgary and Edmonton.
Jabez McPherson sold his lumber mill machinery after the milling was finished on the first site. Then while on a picnic he saw a good stand of timber so purchased new equipment and opened his second mill on the NE20-41-5 .He just couldn't resist the urge to get back into the lumber mill business again.
Later Jabez purchased a new wooden, Nichols & Shepherd threshing machine, and operated it with the steam engine which he bought from the mill. He did a lot of threshing in the Bentley area with this machine.
In later years Jabez ran a feed mill in Bentley.
James McPherson homesteaded just west of Bentley on the Blindman River. He set up a cheese factory on the homestead. Later he built a bigger cheese factory a quarter of a mile north of the center of Bentley. This building later became Miller's Creamery.
In 1906 James built a business on Main Street, with groceries and a lumber yard. He also had a business office and was a J.P. For many years he was Secretary of the Oxford School District. Bentley was an active prosperous little town and James McPherson was very much a part of it.
In 1912 he built Thistle Inn at Aspen Beach. It was a hotel and a grocery store. He also ran a taxi from Lacombe to Aspen Beach in the summertime. He ran the hotel for three summers 1912, 1913, and 1914. When the war started in 1914 business dwindled and in 1915 he sold the hotel.
The first stopping house in the Bentley area was operated by Mrs Jabez McPherson. As roads, at the turn of the century, were really only wagon trails through prairie grass they often became muddy and clogged in rainy weather. The stopping house, located half - way between Rimbey and Lacombe allowed those travelers the opportunity to rest, feed their horses and find food and temporary lodgings for themselves as they transported their provisions, supplies or merchandise.
Mrs McPherson and her friend Annie Whitsell once shot a prowling bear that came too close to their living quarters. We presume that no men folk were around, but these capable pioneer ladies had no trouble dealing with this intruder.