Acme sprang to life with the arrival of Canadian Pacific Railway’s branch north from Langdon in 1910. This line left the mainline just east of Calgary and visited many small towns along the way. For a time Acme was at the end of track, but eventually rails were extended into the Drumheller coalfields in the 1920s, and later in 1930 north to Wimborne.

The word Acme has Greek origins and means “high point”, “peak”, or “summit”. The history book suggests two interpretations how the town came to acquire the name.

“If it wasn’t for the VLTs plus the liquor store plus the bar, you take one of them away and it would…it would…you know…” – Sharon, on the struggles of keeping the lights on.

“There used to be red rugs, red chairs, and round tables with red terry cloth covers. And there was so many bar fights and stuff going on. It was crazy. The (terrycloth) soaked up the spills really nice, but they always smelled terrible.” – Linda, on working at the bar as a teenager in the ’80s.

It is said Acme was at the highest point along the railway line. Being the prairies, there is not a significant or obvious difference in elevation from here to anywhere, but perhaps it is enough. Another suggests that for a time Acme, being the most northerly point on the branch line at the time, was at the top of the railway map.

We’ll leave it to you to decide.

The first public train arrived on July 7th of 1910, and the village was incorporated that same day. Many of the streets take their names from CPR surveyors.

Acme had a population of around 150 when incorporated, but within a decade that doubled. It stayed close to that number until the 1970s, but soon was closer to 400. At present it is around 600 and that is down from its peak of 650 a few years prior.

“Karen was leaving and closing and looked back, and there was water spewing down over top of this VLT. Right there (pointing). My son and daughter-in-law spent Christmas Eve sleeping on the pool table because we found the one leak. So all you could fit under there was a very small litter box, so it had to be emptied every 20 minutes to stop it from coming down here. My son made up this MacGyver thing up here with a ladder and an eaves trough and a bucket for it to go down in, but you still had to empty that bucket every 20 minutes. And all these plumbing places that say 24 hours, they’re not. Not on Christmas Eve, I guess.” – Sharon, accepting it’s a never ending battle & having to rely on others sometimes for help.

“I just decided I was tired of working for other people and my friend was selling it…back in those days it was a lot busier. Since post-COVID it all translates into people are staying home…” – Sharon, on buying the business many years ago.

Many locals are employed in the Agriculture or Energy sectors. The Sunterra Market grocery store chain employs some 60 people and raises tomatoes, strawberries and other produce in a large greenhouse at the north end of the community. They also operate a nearby hog operation.

The hotel dates to 1910 and was rebuilt after a big fire in 1912. It is not clear whether it is a totally new building atop the old foundation, or if some sections were salvaged and reused. The local history book is rather quiet on the subject.

The original hotel had a balcony off the second floor, but it is not seen after the fire. Otherwise, the two buildings look much the same, and appear identical in footprint.

In the early days the hotel was one of the few places in town with a telephone and their number early on was “1”. That is a tough one to remember. Over the years, the business has been called Acme Inn or Acme Hotel, but from about 1920 to the 1970s it had the name Alberta Hotel.

“They were renting rooms at the time. Yes, and the railway guys came in then all the crews would stay up there, so every room was booked for Thursday nights. So it was packed. It was absolutely packed up there.” – Linda – and now the railway is gone.

“Well, I barred him. I ended up having to bar him, and I barred him for the rest of his natural life. I said, you can come back and haunt me when you die, but until then, you’re not stepping foot in here.” – Sharon, speaking of a difficult patron.

“There was an older fellow who lost his license, so he drove his tractor to town, and then they told him he couldn’t drive his tractor, so then he rode the horse and tied it up out front. And the horse took him home.” – Linda, on a similar topic.

At one point there was a dining hall here, but it appears only in the early days.

The Calgary Brewing Company owned the Acme Hotel at the start but divested themselves of it once prohibition arrived in 1916. The local history book “Acme Memories” notes there were a lot of men in town that last day before the bar closed and imagines there were a lot of hangovers the next day. The rules did not allow ladies in such establishments at the time.

It was common in the old days for breweries to own hotels, for the associated beer parlour business.

From that point onward and until prohibition was repealed in 1923, the hotel is not mentioned in telephone directories. It may have been closed or only used as a rooming house during this time. The brewery did not reacquire it after prohibition was repealed and since then it has had more than a dozen owners.

“There was Harry Layton. He lived upstairs in the front corner. He was always here, and every morning, and he was crippled with polio when he was quite young. So he would come down the stairs and stuff, and it would take him almost half an hour to get down. He would go out and just hang out on the lobby railing there, and everybody that would go by, then he’d wave or he’d shake his cane at them. He’d go, Nice day, eh? That’s what he said to everybody. So he was a staple of the hotel…” – Linda, speaking of a long time hotel resident.

“I enjoy the customers. I have the best customers in the world, I swear I do.” – Sharon, on the positive sides of the business.

A 1950s passage from the history book states that Saturday night was always grocery shopping night and one of the busiest times at the bar. Mothers and kids would do the shopping, while the men would gather at the beer parlour to talk a little business. That’s how it played out in many small prairie towns. The ladies cursed and the men celebrated the very same business.

It’s been decades since rooms at the Acme Inn were rented out.

The Acme Hotel is located on Pacific Avenue and this is somewhat of an anomaly. Usually the street paralleling the railway is called Railway or 50th. It was typical practice back them and many towns followed a somewhat standard pattern.

In the days there were many businesses in downtown Acme. This includes numerous stores, restaurants, banks, and other services. There was also a row of five grain elevators down by the tracks. Today there is only a grocery store, a couple eateries, the hotel, a pharmacy, bank, and that is about it.

“I worked here when I was 18 for about a year and a half. So there was a dance floor in there, and we had live entertainment every weekend, and it was great. In here they had a Jenn Air range for doing steaks and stuff like this. It was packed. Every weekend was packed in here. The dance floor would be packed.” – Linda speaking of busier times when she worked at the Acme Inn long ago.

The boiler, I’m thinking, is almost as old as the building. Maybe not quite, but to replace it, I have put a lot of money into it. In the last year and a half it wasn’t always working properly. We were having to fill it every four hours. When it was really cold out, and I live in Linden (12km north), so driving here every four hours to fill that boiler and stuff….a big headache. If you let that freeze, then you’re done for.” – Sharon, on troubles with the old heating plant.

Some mischievous folks had fun with the Acme Alberta Wikipedia page and no one has caught it yet (as of the publishing of this article).

“Acme is also home to the ACME Corporation which is famous for providing boobie traps and explosives for catching wabbits, road runners and Mexican mice.” People of a certain age will understand the reference.

Today a design similar to the Wily E Coyote character is used by the Acme Inn as their logo.

Acme, Alberta: Population about 600, located in Kneehill County and about 85km NE of Calgary.