Carl Stettler

Carl Stettler (* June 6, 1861 in Eggiwil/Switzerland, † February 1, 1920 in Memphis/Tennessee) was born at Eggiwil near Berne, Switzerland on June 6, 1861. He moved from Switzerland to the U.S. in 1886. After traveling and working across the U.S., he arrived in Alberta in 1903 and homesteaded two and a half miles east of the present town of Stettler. He founded and was the first postmaster of the Swiss and German colony of Blumenau in 1905. In the same year, the building of the railroad required moving the entire townsite to the site of Blumenau. Stettler became postmaster of the new town, was a (CPR) land agent there, and the town was named in his honor. He was a member of the first Town Council of Stettler. He built and owned the National Hotel in Stettler which was destroyed by fire in 1908.

After selling the property he moved east to Castor where built and owned and two other hotels and organized the Castor Coal Company. He remained in Castor until 1919.

In his final year he had moved back to Stettler. He died on 1st February 1920 while visiting Memphis, Tennessee. His remains were buried in Stettler.

References

• Over 2000 Place Names of Alberta. (expanded third edition) by Eric J. Holmgren and Patricia M. Holmgren. (Saskatoon:Western Producer Prairie Books, 1976)
• Overview of the immigration history of Alberta's German-speaking communities (Part 1: 1880s to 1914)