Leavitt is a hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

 in southern Alberta

Southern Alberta

Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of the year 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 within Cardston County

Cardston County, Alberta

Cardston County is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 3 around the Town of Cardston.The municipal district was established on January 1, 1954, through the amalgamation of the Municipal District of Sugar City No. 5 and part of the Municipal District of...

, located approximately 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) west of Cardston

Cardston, Alberta

-Demographics:The population of the Town of Cardston according to its 2007 municipal census is 3,578.In 2006, it had a population of 3,452 living in 1,234 dwellings, a 0.7% decrease from 2001...

 on Highway 5. It falls within the Canadian federal electoral district of Lethbridge

Lethbridge

Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada, and the largest city in southern Alberta. It is Alberta's fourth-largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and the third-largest by area after Calgary and Edmonton. The nearby Canadian Rockies contribute to the city's...

.

History

The first settler of the area was Thomas Rowell Leavitt

Thomas Rowell Leavitt

Thomas Rowell "Tom" Leavitt was an early Mormon settler of Leavitt, Alberta, Canada, which the former Utah sheriff and marshal founded at age 53 after an arduous journey in covered wagons, fleeing a crackdown on polygamy that sent fellow Mormons across the border to Mexico and Canada.Leavitt was...

, a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) from Utah Territory

Utah Territory

The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....

 who came to Alberta fleeing a United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 government crackdown on polygamy

Polygamy

Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two partners...

 during a wave of late nineteenth century Latter-day Saint emigration to Canada

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Canada

Since its organization in New York in 1830, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a presence in Canada. The first Latter Day Saint missionaries to preach outside of the United States preached in Upper Canada; the first stake to be established outside of the U.S...

 and Mexico

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico

Mexico is home to the largest body of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints outside of the United States.-History:...

. The settlement's first name was Buffalo Flats, but it was subsequently changed to Leavitt in honor of the early Latter-day Saint settler.

Cardston was the first Latter-day Saint settlement in Canada, and Leavitt was founded by a like-minded Latter-day Saint. Thomas Rowell Leavitt was born in Hatley, Quebec

Hatley, Quebec

Hatley is a village of 700 people, part of the Memphrémagog Regional County Municipality in the Eastern Townships region of Quebec.An otherwise quiet and tiny agricultural village, one of Hatley's main claims to fame is its annual Canada Day Celebration which always takes place on July 1st...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 in 1834. Early converts to Mormonism

Mormonism

Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...

, his parents subsequently moved to Utah. He had 26 children: 12 with his wife Ann Eliza; 9 with wife Antoinette; and 5 with Harriet Martha. Four chlldren died in their infancy, leaving 22 children who grew to adulthood. Twenty of the 22 eventually chose to remain in Canada as citizens, and today there are many Leavitts in the region, descendants of the original pioneer.

Thomas Rowell 'Tom' Leavitt was a farmer who had previously served as constable

Constable

A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...

, marshal

Marshal

Marshal , is a word used in several official titles of various branches of society. The word is an ancient loan word from Old French, cf...

 and sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 of Wellsville, Utah

Wellsville, Utah

Wellsville is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The population was 3,432 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Logan, Utah-Idaho Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Wellsville is located at ....

. To reach Canada, Leavitt endured a six-week, 800 miles (1,287.5 km) journey in early spring 1887. He and his party reached their destination at Lee Creek, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, on May 25. They had come in covered wagons—the last recorded pioneer wagon train

Wagon train

A wagon train is a group of wagons traveling together. In the American West, individuals traveling across the plains in covered wagons banded together for mutual assistance, as is reflected in numerous films and television programs about the region, such as Audie Murphy's Tumbleweed and Ward Bond...

 in the Old West. He had left his wife Ann Eliza (Jenkins) behind at his Wellsville ranch, and Leavitt was accompanied on his trek by his third wife Harriet Martha (Dowdle), along with several of his children by his three wives.

Thomas Leavitt's son Alfred, born in Utah, followed his father to Alberta in 1897. He and his brothers helped dig the irrigation canals that Charles Ora Card

Charles Ora Card

Charles Ora Card was the founder of the town of Cardston, Alberta, the first Mormon settlement in Canada. He has been referred to as "Canada's Brigham Young"....

, founder of Cardston, had promised the Canadian government in return for more land grant

Land grant

A land grant is a gift of real estate – land or its privileges – made by a government or other authority as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service...

s to Latter-day Saint settlers.

Basking in the shadow of Chief Mountain

Chief Mountain

Chief Mountain is located in the U.S. state of Montana on the eastern border of Glacier National Park and the Blackfeet Indian Reservation...

 and the Canadian Rockies

Canadian Rockies

The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...

 range, the hamlet of Leavitt is located in a valley of rolling hills only miles from the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

-Canada border. Cattle ranching and agriculture make up most of the area's economy. The Latter-day Saint legacy still tinctures much of this area of Alberta. Much of the region's population is still heavily Latter-day Saint, which is typified by the large Cardston Alberta Temple

Cardston Alberta Temple

The Cardston Alberta Temple is the eighth constructed and sixth operating temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Located in Cardston, Alberta, it is the oldest LDS temple outside the United States. It is one of eight temples that do not have an angel Moroni statue, and one of...

 in Cardston.

The Hamlet of Leavitt's first post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 opened in 1900 with Walter Glenn the first postmaster

Postmaster

A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...

; the post office closed permanently in 1968. During those 68 years, three Leavitt family members acted as postmaster

Postmaster

A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...

. The founder of Leavitt, former sheriff Tom Leavitt, died in 1891. The Leavitt Chapel, a meetinghouse for the Leavitt Stake, was built in 1896, and remained in use until the 1950s.

Much of the area around Leavitt is sparsely settled.