Champion is a village east of Highway 23, approximately 65 km North Northwest of Lethbridge. The history of Champion started in 1906, when Martin George Clever and his second wife Jennie quit their native Iowa to homestead in Southern Alberta, North of the Little Bow River. Clever’s offer of free lots on his property attracted businesses and created the instant hamlet of Cleverville. When the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) started planning its Kipp-Aldersyde line, the company tried to buy Clever’s remaining property through a third party. Clever was no dummy; he knew who wanted his land and demanded a better price. The CPR responded by buying another farm west of Cleverville and developing it in 1910 as the new railway townsite of Champion. Cleverville vanished as quickly as it appeared. Its buildings and people moved to Champion. All that remains is a stone cairn on a lonely highway that reads “Village of Cleverville – 1906 – 1910”.

Champion was named for Henry Thomson Champion (1847-1916), a Winnipeg banker and onetime chairman of the Winnipeg Stock Exchange. Born in Toronto, Champion came west during the Manitoba Insurrection of 1870 as a sergeant of the Wolsely expedition. He then remained in Winnipeg for the rest of his life. If he had no other Alberta connection, at least Champion lived on Winnipeg’s Edmonton Street.

As of 2024, AFHS volunteers have documented 748 interments at Champion Cemetery.

Deaths

Longevity

Address

1 St South
Nearest Populated Centre: Champion,
Province: Alberta

Map Location

Latitude, Longitude
50.23245, -113.14427

Map Location

Search for:
RESET
Surname Given Name Born Died Age Photos Cemetery R Code

The 25 most common surnames found in this cemetery.

loader

The 25 most common given names found in this cemetery.

loader

Other Cemeteries

Hilda Bethlehem Lutheran Cemetery (Cypress County)

Twp Rd 182 & Range Rd 20 , Hilda , Alberta

Friedens Cemetery (Special Area No. 2)

Range Road 151 and Township Road 300 , Hanna , Alberta

Trinity Mennonite Church Cemetery (Foothills County)

434 Ave E & 144 St E , Aldersyde , Alberta

Christ Lutheran Cemetery (Red Deer County)

Township Road 370 and Range Road 32 , Spruce View , Alberta

Little Plume Cemetery (Cypress County)

Eagle Butte Rd (Range Rd 51) and Twp Rd 100 , South of Dunmore , Alberta

Haneyville Cemetery (Paintearth County)

Township Road 370 , Haneyville , Alberta

St. Mary's Cemetery (Cochrane, Rocky View County)

423 Centre Ave N , Cochrane , Alberta

Caldwell - Belly River Cemetery (Cardston County)

Highway 800 S of Highway 505 , Mountain View , Alberta

Taylor Cemetery (Vulcan County)

Hwy 539 between Rge Rd 181 & Range Rd 183 , Lomond , Alberta

Torrington West Cemetery (Kneehill County)

263074 Hwy 27 , Torrington , Alberta

Discover Alberta Ancestors