Armena

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title: "Armena" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["camrose-county", "hamlets-in-alberta", "designated-places-in-alberta"] topic_path: "general/camrose-county" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armena" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
nameArmena
settlement_typeHamlet
dot_x
pushpin_mapCanada Alberta
pushpin_label_positionnone
pushpin_map_captionLocation of Armena in Alberta
pushpin_mapsize220
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameCanada
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1Alberta
subdivision_type2Census division
subdivision_name2No. 10
subdivision_type3Municipal district
subdivision_name3Camrose County
government_typeUnincorporated
leader_titleGoverning body
leader_nameCamrose County Council
established_title2
established_title3
area_footnotes(2021)
area_land_km20.7
population_as_of2021
population_footnotes
population_total37
population_density_km253.2
timezoneMST
utc_offset−7
timezone_DSTMDT
utc_offset_DST−6
coordinates
elevation_footnotes
elevation_m745
website
::

|name = Armena |other_name = |native_name = |nickname = |settlement_type = Hamlet |motto = |image_skyline = |imagesize = |image_caption = |image_flag = |flag_size = |image_seal = |seal_size = |image_shield = |shield_size = |city_logo = |citylogo_size = |image_map = |mapsize = |map_caption = |image_map1 = |mapsize1 = |map_caption1 = |image_dot_map = |dot_mapsize = |dot_map_caption = |dot_x = |dot_y = |pushpin_map = Canada Alberta |pushpin_label_position = none |pushpin_map_caption = Location of Armena in Alberta |pushpin_mapsize = 220 |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Canada |subdivision_type1 = Province |subdivision_name1 = Alberta |subdivision_type2 = Census division |subdivision_name2 = No. 10 |subdivision_type3 = Municipal district |subdivision_name3 = Camrose County |subdivision_type4 = |subdivision_name4 = |government_footnotes = |government_type = Unincorporated |leader_title = Governing body |leader_name = Camrose County Council |leader_title1 = |leader_name1 = |leader_title2 = |leader_name2 = |leader_title3 = |leader_name3 = |leader_title4 = |leader_name4 = |established_title = |established_date = |established_title2 = |established_date2 = |established_title3 = |established_date3 = | area_footnotes = (2021) | area_land_km2 = 0.7 | population_as_of = 2021 | population_footnotes = | population_note = | population_total = 37 | population_density_km2 = 53.2 | population_blank1_title = | population_blank1 = |timezone = MST |utc_offset = −7 |timezone_DST = MDT |utc_offset_DST = −6 |coordinates = |elevation_footnotes =
|elevation_m = 745 |postal_code_type = |postal_code = |area_code = |blank_name = |blank_info = |blank1_name = |blank1_info = |website = |footnotes =

Armena is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Camrose County. It is located approximately 21 km northwest of Camrose along Highway 21 and has an elevation of 745 m. The hamlet is located in Census Division No. 10 and in the federal riding of Crowfoot.

Toponymy

Armena was originally named Tordenskjold, in honour of Norwegian sailor Peter Tordenskjold, by the primarily Norwegian settlers who established the settlement in the 1890s.

In 1911 (sometimes recorded as 1915), the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) began constructing a track through the settlement, which was still named Tordenskjold by locals. Some residents felt Tordenskjold was too difficult to pronounce, and asked CNR to decide upon a different name. The settlement (and associated railway stop) was subsequently renamed to Armena, though it is unknown how the name was created.

History

Early settlers: 1872-1896

In 1872, the Canadian government instituted the Dominion Lands Act, offering arable land to European emigrants who were willing to establish farms. Between the Act's passage and 1893, a small number of homesteads were founded in the area now known as Armena.

In May 1894, Norwegian farmers Thore Grue and Ole Movald relocated to the area with their families. Settlers that followed throughout the rest of the 1890s were of primarily Scandinavian descent.

Construction of school and churches: 1897-1910

By 1897, the settlement had grown through the arrival of large families with many children. Grue and his wife Beret had seven of their own. He and Movald therefore enlisted their neighbours to build a school. Residents hauled logs from a nearby lake to Grue's sawmill, for conversion into furniture and building materials.

Armena's first schoolhouse, built over the spring of 1898, welcomed an inaugural class of 29 students ranging in age from seven to seventeen. The building was also used for worship activities by a congregation of Norwegian Lutherans, which Grue organized and gave the named "Scandia." Two more schools were built afterwards, one in 1905 by the Lyseng family and one in 1912 by the Busk family.

The hamlet expanded in 1901 and 1902 with the arrival of families from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota. Between 1903 and 1907, these families built two churches: a Swedish Lutheran church five kilometres east of Armena, and a free church just under one kilometre to the south. In 1908, the Norwegian Lutherans in Armena joined the congregation of the free church, and its building was moved north of Armena. Grue served as the congregation's choir leader for many years. This church, retaining the name "Scandia," remains active as of 2025.

Introduction of rail, change of name, and commercial development: 1911-1959

In 1911 (sometimes recorded as 1915), the Canadian Northern Railway built a track through the settlement, as part of the Calgary-Edmonton route. The introduction of rail brought commercial activity to Armena. A grain elevator was built by United Grain Elevators (UCG) in 1914, followed by two more in 1927 and 1928. The UCG elevator caught fire in 1935 and, despite the intervention of Camrose's fire department, could not be salvaged; another elevator was built in its place. Armena's first general store opened in 1915. An Armena post office opened in 1917, attached to the store, that remained in operation until 1953. In 1922, this store also burned down, though it was replaced the year after.

In the 1930s, as was customary at the time, Armena's residents operated a 'fence link' telephone service. Named a 'farmers' telephone company,' these networks allowed residents to communicate with each other, absent a central switchboard, using barbed wire fences around their properties. These services ended after Western Canada was electrified in the 1940s.

On July 26, 1939, politician William Duncan Herridge delivered a speech in Armena at a picnic held by the Alberta Social Credit Party, marking his first public appearance in Alberta. The purpose of his visit was to promote his newly-launched federal New Democracy party, and to affirm an allegiance with Alberta Social Credit. Premier William Aberhart accompanied Herridge.

Armena's schools were consolidated into one central facility in 1941. The Scandia Lutheran church suffered fire damage in May 1955, but the building had been restored by April 1958.

Departure and death of Thore Grue: 1927-1932

In 1927, Thore and Beret Grue, who had been integral to Armena's establishment, moved to Whitecourt to operate a farm. They remained congregants of the Scandia Church, celebrating their golden wedding anniversary there on February 16, 1931. In 1932, they decided to retire and move to Edmonton to live with some of their adult children. Two weeks prior to their departure, Thore experienced influenza symptoms, though he seemed in better health when they boarded the train on December 23, 1932. He began feeling unwell during the rail journey and, upon reaching the platform in Edmonton, collapsed and died. 300 ancestors and relatives of Thore and Beret Grue, including nine descendants born in Norway, attended a reunion in Armena in July 1994.

Second World War: 1939-1945

Throughout the Second World War, several residents of Armena enlisted to fight for Canada; some were killed in active service or declared missing in action.

Discovery of oil: 1951

The discovery of oil in Alberta in the late 1940s began an oil boom in the province. Western Homestead Oils Limited initiated the introduction of exploratory wells to Armena in January 1951, and discovered oil in October of that year. By September 1952, the Armena oil field was producing over 3,000 barrels daily.

Regional development: 1960-present

Although Alberta's urban settlements enjoyed electricity by the twentieth century, rural areas were slower to be added to the grid. Armena received electricity service for the first time in 1956, when Calgary Power (today TransAlta) built infrastructure in the area. The Armena School District was absorbed by Battle River School Division in 1975. The local school was closed, and students began attending the school in Hay Lakes from the 1975-76 academic year onwards.

Armena was officially declared a hamlet in 1980. Rail passenger service to the area ended in 1985. The track remains in use by the Canadian National Railway for freight as of 2025. Also as of 2025, Armena hosts an athletic association and recreation board that operate a skating rink and baseball field. The area is a popular location for winter sports.

Demographics

| title = Population history of Armena | type = Canada | align = left | width = | shading = | percentages = | state = | footnote = | source = Statistics Canada

|1966|35 |1971|55 |1976|43 |1981|36 |1986|47 |1991|50 |1996|48 |2001|35 |2006|50 |2011|47 |2016|42 |2021|37

As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Armena had a population of 42 living in 16 of its 16 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 47. With a land area of 0.7 km2, it had a population density of in 2016.

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Armena had a population of 37 living in 17 of its 18 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 42. With a land area of 0.7 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

As of 2024, Armena contains over 40 residential lots, and is home to just under 50 people.

References

|Centre = Armena |North = Miquelon Lake Provincial Park |Northeast = Tofield |East = Round Hill |Southeast = Camrose |South = New Norway |Southwest = Bittern Lake |West = Millet |Northwest = Hay Lakes

References

  2. {{AltaML
  3. "Hamlet of Armena".
  4. Croucher, Cheryl. (26 February 2001). "Scandinavian Place Names: Armena and Bardo". National Library of Canada Electronic Collection.
  5. "Alberta Geographical Names Web Map - Armena". [[Alberta Culture]].
  6. Gagnon, Erica. (28 January 2022). "Settling the West: Immigration to the Prairies from 1867 to 1914". [[Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21]].
  7. Lyseng, Dorothy. (1947). "Early history of Camrose, Alberta and district". Camrose Historical Society.
  8. (25 May 1952). "Fiftieth anniversary: Scandia Lutheran Church, Armena, Alberta". Scandia Lutheran Church.
  9. Camrose Canadian. (8 August 1955). "The golden trail - Lions Club of Camrose". Lions Club of Camrose.
  10. Retson, Don. (31 July 1994). "Family marks century in new land; 300 attend reunion near Camrose homestead of Norwegian immigrants". [[Edmonton Journal]], A.
  11. (1898). "Thordenskjold School, (Armena District), Camrose". [[Provincial Archives of Alberta]].
  12. (28 December 1932). "Former Armena Pioneer Dropped Dead in Capital". [[Camrose Canadian]].
  13. (1 May 2024). "Camrose & Area Tourism Guide 2024". Tourism Camrose.
  14. (2006). "Concise place names of Alberta". University of Calgary Press.
  15. (1 May 2022). "Rise and Fall of Passenger Rail in Central Alberta - Forth Junction Project". Forth Junction Heritage Society.
  16. Canada, Library and Archives. (2016-11-25). "Armena Archives / Post Offices and Postmasters".
  17. Davis, Angela E.. (1993). "“Valiant Servants”: Women and Technology on the Canadian Prairies 1910-1940". Manitoba History.
  18. (5 February 1936). "Provincial Briefs - Armena". Edmonton Journal.
  19. (26 July 1939). "Herridge, Once With Liberals, Tories, Carries New Democracy Idea to Alberta". Edmonton Journal.
  20. (24 July 1939). "Herridge Plans Alberta Speech Says Aberhart". The Calgary Herald.
  21. (3 May 1955). "Lutheran Church Leveled In Fire". [[Calgary Herald]].
  22. (15 April 1958). "District WCTU Holds Armena Convention". Edmonton Journal.
  23. (29 July 1942). "Answer Call Serve Country". Edmonton Journal.
  24. (18 November 1942). "These Volunteer To Serve Country". Edmonton Journal.
  25. (11 September 1943). "17 Alberta Men in Casualty List". Edmonton Journal.
  26. (3 January 1944). "Official Casualty List". Edmonton Journal.
  27. Bonikowsky, Laura Neilson. (4 March 2015). "Striking Oil in Leduc: the Beginning of Alberta's Oil Boom".
  28. (6 January 1951). "Canadian Gulf Well May Open New Pool". Calgary Herald.
  29. Hunt, C. Warren. (1954). "The Joseph Lake-Armena-Camrose Producing Trend, Alberta: Oil and Gas Occurrences". Bulletin of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
  30. (1952). "The Canadian Mineral Industry in 1951". Department of Mines and Technical Surveys.
  31. (8 September 1952). "Chancellor Area Well on Production Test". Calgary Herald.
  32. "The Early History of Electricity in Alberta - Electricity & Alternative Energy - Alberta's Energy Heritage". [[Alberta Culture]].
  33. Galenza, Sheila. (9 August 1988). "Village of Hay Lakes, Alberta: 60th anniversary". Rileys Reproductions Ltd..
  34. "Battle River School Division No. 31 Fonds". [[Alberta Culture]].
  35. "CN - Network Map - North American Rail Carriers". [[Canadian National Railway]].
  36. Kornik, Slav. (13 January 2019). "No dangerous goods on derailed train in central Alberta: CN Rail".
  37. {{1966CDNcuipr
  38. {{1971CDNcuipr
  39. {{1976CDNcuipr
  40. {{1981CDNcuipr
  41. {{1986CDNcuipr
  42. {{1991CDNcuipr
  43. {{1996CDNcdplr
  44. (August 15, 2012). "Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Divisions, 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].
  45. (July 20, 2021). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].
  46. (February 8, 2012). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2011 and 2006 censuses (Alberta)". Statistics Canada.
  47. (February 8, 2017). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].
  48. (February 9, 2022). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places". [[Statistics Canada]].
  49. (1 April 2024). "Hamlet of Armena Land Use / Index Map". Camrose County.

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camrose-countyhamlets-in-albertadesignated-places-in-alberta