I promised I would get back to some historical place posts.  Today’s posting is about the Jumping Pound Hall.  Located just southwest of Cochrane, the hall was originally built in 1927, at least according to the sign in front of the building.

I had assumed that, like many of these small community halls which dot the prairie landscape, that it had originally served as a school or church before finding new life.  However, a quick search of the Glenbow Archives allowed me to find a couple of photos from when it opened and it appears to have been purpose-built as a community hall.

It’s also worth noting that the Glenbow images (below) are dated 1926, leading to at least some discrepancy in the actual year of construction.  These sorts of differences are not at all unusual when dealing with something that has been around for 90 years.

On the exterior, not too much has changed.  The building now features white siding and a bright red metal roof.  The small “add on” shown in the above photo is still present, but the window has been covered over and the door widened.  The west side now also sports a small window which was not present during original construction.  In comparing the above photo to the footage I captured, it is quite possible this “add on” was replaced at some point in the past as it appears a bit larger now — or is it just a trick of the camera?

The east side now features a larger addition/entrance, complete with a wheelchair ramp. Where the easternmost window once was located has been converted into a door, also with its own ramp.

I cannot comment on changes to the interior as I didn’t even think to walk up and look in the windows.  That’s a major oversight on my behalf, but I was more interested in showing my mother how the Mavic Pro flies than I was doing an in-depth report on the building.

Much like the year of construction, the name also slightly varies depending on which source you check.  While Google Maps clearly shows the hall as being on Jumping Pound (two words) Road, the mountain and creek are often listed as Jumpingpound (one word).  This is a DeWinton/De Winton situation all over again.

While I was mentally drafting this post, I happened to find myself at the local library.  I checked out a copy of “The Story Behind Alberta Names” by local historian Harry Sanders but Jumping Pound is not one of the locations in the book.  It was worth a try. I’ll add it to the ever-lengthening list of mysteries I need to solve.

That’s it for now. I have one more post already in the works and then it should be the weekend and I’m hoping to get and capture some more footage. Cheers!