The Columbia Basin Institute of Regional History is very happy to annouce another new site in its growing collection of Columbia Basin history sites. On May 20th, 2009, “The Great Cranbrook Elephant Hunt” was launched. This site examines the conditions leading up to the 1926 elephant stampede in Cranbrook, looking at stampedes in Edmonton and Calgary before the arrival of the Sells-Floto Circus in Cranbrook on August 6th, 1926.
The Columbia Basin Institute is very pleased with this new site as it presents a wide array of new texts and photographs pertaining to the 1926 escape of a large elephant herd into the wilds around Cranbrook. We were happy to find people such as Ed Reynolds who still recalled the event, and to uncover photos that many may never have seen before. “The Great Cranbrook Elephant Hunt” is accessible from the Home Page of the Columbia Basin Institute’s web site.
Much thanks is due to our financial partners in this project, the Columbia Kootenay Cultural Alliance, the City of Cranbrook and the Columbia Basin Trust. As well, we could not have put together as comprehensive a site without the ongoing support of Chris Eimer and the Cranbrook Archives, Museum and Landmarks Foundation.