Endiang
An interesting bit of history is that the original settlement of
Endiang was located about 5 kilometers northeast of the present hamlet
and was established by William Foreman on his homestead in 1910. It was
named for a summer resort hotel the Foreman family owned in the Muskoka
Lakes region of Ontario, named Endiang, which in the native Indian
language meant "Our Home". The tiny settlement included a post office,
store and hall. When the CNR built a railroad through the area in 1925
it missed the original settlement, so with the aid of horse power the
buildings were moved to the new site of Endiang.
A little known fact about Endiang is that during the cold war it was
considered the place most likely for conflict between the U.S.S.R. and
the U.S.A. to begin. If the Soviet Union were to have fired a missile
first, and the American military were to respond, it was considered
likely that the two missiles would collide over Endiang. This fact was
immortalised in the poem "Armageddon at Endiang, Alberta".
In former years, Endiang was home to a post office, two general stores,
two hardware stores, bank, train station, grain elevators, hotel and
pool hall, gas station, tractor dealership, lumber yard, and all the
other establishment expected in most towns. Today, Endiang is still home
to a post office and community hall, which hosts an annual Turkey dinner
every November, and a small restaurant.