Armena

Armena was originally named Tordenskjold, in honour of Norwegian sailor Peter Tordenskjold, by the primarily Norwegian settlers who established the settlement in the 1890s.^[3][4][5]

In 1911 (sometimes recorded as 1915^[4][6]), the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) began constructing a track through the settlement, which was still named Tordenskjold by locals.^[7][3][8] Some residents felt Tordenskjold was too difficult to pronounce, and asked CNR to decide upon a different name.^[3][4][6][8] The settlement (and associated railway stop) was subsequently renamed to Armena, though it is unknown how the name was created.^[3][4]

In 1872, the Canadian government instituted the Dominion Lands Act, offering arable land to European emigrants who were willing to establish farms.^[9] Between the Act's passage and 1893, a small number of homesteads were founded in the area now known as Armena.^[7]

In May 1894, Norwegian farmers Thore Grue and Ole Movald relocated to the area with their families.^[10][3] Settlers that followed throughout the rest of the 1890s were of primarily Scandinavian descent.^[5]

By 1897, the settlement had grown through the arrival of large families with many children.^[7] Grue and his wife Beret had seven of their own.^[11] He and Movald therefore enlisted their neighbours to build a school.^[7] Residents hauled logs from a nearby lake to Grue's sawmill, for conversion into furniture and building materials.^[7]

Armena's first schoolhouse, built over the spring of 1898, welcomed an inaugural class of 29 students ranging in age from seven to seventeen.^[7][10][12] The building was also used for worship activities by a congregation of Norwegian Lutherans, which Grue organized and gave the named "Scandia."^[7][10] Two more schools were built afterwards, one in 1905 by the Lyseng family and one in 1912 by the Busk family.^[3]

The hamlet expanded in 1901 and 1902 with the arrival of families from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota.^[7][10] 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.^[7][10] In 1908, the Norwegian Lutherans in Armena joined the congregation of the free church, and its building was moved north of Armena.^[7][10] Grue served as the congregation's choir leader for many years.^[13] This church, retaining the name "Scandia,"^[10] remains active as of 2025.^[4][14]

In 1911 (sometimes recorded as 1915^[4][6]), the Canadian Northern Railway built a track through the settlement, as part of the Calgary-Edmonton route.^[15] The introduction of rail brought commercial activity to Armena.^[3] A grain elevator was built by United Grain Elevators (UCG) in 1914, followed by two more in 1927 and 1928.^[3] 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.^[3] Armena's first general store opened in 1915.^[3] An Armena post office opened in 1917, attached to the store, that remained in operation until 1953.^[3][16] In 1922, this store also burned down, though it was replaced the year after.^[3]

In the 1930s, as was customary at the time, Armena's residents operated a 'fence link' telephone service.^[17][18] 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.^[17] These services ended after Western Canada was electrified in the 1940s.^[17]

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.^[19] The purpose of his visit was to promote his newly-launched federal New Democracy party, and to affirm an allegiance with Alberta Social Credit.^[19][20] Premier William Aberhart accompanied Herridge.^[19]

Armena's schools were consolidated into one central facility in 1941.^[3] The Scandia Lutheran church suffered fire damage in May 1955,^[21] but the building had been restored by April 1958.^[22]

In 1927, Thore and Beret Grue, who had been integral to Armena's establishment, moved to Whitecourt to operate a farm.^[3] They remained congregants of the Scandia Church, celebrating their golden wedding anniversary there on February 16, 1931.^[3][13] In 1932, they decided to retire and move to Edmonton to live with some of their adult children.^[3][13] 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.^[13] He began feeling unwell during the rail journey and, upon reaching the platform in Edmonton, collapsed and died.^[13] 300 ancestors and relatives of Thore and Beret Grue, including nine descendants born in Norway, attended a reunion in Armena in July 1994.^[11]

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.^{[23][24][25][26]}

The discovery of oil in Alberta in the late 1940s began an oil boom in the province.^[27] Western Homestead Oils Limited initiated the introduction of exploratory wells to Armena in January 1951,^[28] and discovered oil in October of that year.^[29][30] By September 1952, the Armena oil field was producing over 3,000 barrels daily.^[31]

Although Alberta's urban settlements enjoyed electricity by the twentieth century, rural areas were slower to be added to the grid.^[32] Armena received electricity service for the first time in 1956, when Calgary Power (today TransAlta) built infrastructure in the area.^[33] The Armena School District was absorbed by Battle River School Division in 1975.^[33][34] The local school was closed, and students began attending the school in Hay Lakes from the 1975-76 academic year onwards.^[33]

Armena was officially declared a hamlet in 1980.^[8] Rail passenger service to the area ended in 1985.^[15] The track remains in use by the Canadian National Railway for freight as of 2025.^[35][36] Also as of 2025, Armena hosts an athletic association and recreation board that operate a skating rink and baseball field.^[4] The area is a popular location for winter sports.^[4]

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 -10.6% from its 2011 population of 47. With a land area of 0.7 km² (0.27 sq mi), it had a population density of 60.0/km² (155.4/sq mi) in 2016.^[47]

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 -11.9% from its 2016 population of 42. With a land area of 0.7 km² (0.27 sq mi), it had a population density of 52.9/km² (136.9/sq mi) in 2021.^[1]

As of 2024, Armena contains over 40 residential lots,^[48] and is home to just under 50 people.^[4]

• List of communities in Alberta
• List of designated places in Alberta
• List of hamlets in Alberta