Patrick's Story - Sir William Whyte (1843-1914)

On October 19 Patrick Vokes visits the dining car at Aspen Crossing after hearing from a friend that his great grandfather was mentioned in our history. This is Patrick’s Story...

Sir William Whyte was the front man for Canadian Pacific Railway during the time of Van Horne and Shaughnessy. Whyte would travel to towns and would negotiate building the railway through that area. Some of the more famous projects were the High Level bridge in Edmonton and the High Level bridge in Lethbridge. Sir William Whyte also negotiated the first labour contract.

Among Aspen Crossing’s historic literature Sir William received a letter from David Hysop about creating CPR gardens to help settle the west. Sir William would have been responsible for implementing the gardens.

Sir William Whyte had many achievements throughout his life including having a Mountain near Lake Louise named after him. He was also knighted in 1911 for his work with the settlement of Canada. Upon Sir William’s death in 1914 all trains stopped for 3 minutes in his honour.

We at Aspen Crossing would like to sincerely thank Patrick for telling us this remarkable story about his great grandfather. If you have a story or incredible Aspen Crossing experience you would like to share you can email us at info@aspencrossing.com or call at 1(866)440-3500.

For more information about Aspen Crossing or to make reservations call 1(866)440-3500 or go to www.aspencrossing.com.