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Historic Buildings and Ranch Homes

The Ranchmen's Club: Calgary's Private Club for Ranchers Since 1891

A group calling itself the Pack of Western Wolves formed the club in 1891, and its 1914 clubhouse still stands in Calgary.

What Is the Ranchmen's Club?

The Ranchmen's Club is a private club in downtown Calgary, Alberta, created by ranchers in 1891 as a place to meet, eat and talk business. It remains in use in the same building it moved into in 1914. The club's own timeline of the Ranchmen's Club is the main source for the dates in this profile. Its short history also shows how a cattle-country town grew into a city.

How the Club Began in 1891

The timeline says the club first rented rooms in the Lougheed Block and at Mariaggi's Restaurant in 1890. In 1891 it leased rooms above Mariaggi's on Stephen Avenue, and on May 5 a group calling itself the Pack of Western Wolves formally established the club. Calgary's population that year was 3,876.

In 1892 the club bought three lots on McIntyre Avenue, now 7th Avenue S.W., for $2,250 and finished a new clubhouse in July at a total cost of about $8,000. Calgary was incorporated as a city in 1894.

Sir James Lougheed and the 1914 Clubhouse

In 1912 Sir James Lougheed arranged for the club to buy its current property for $78,000. The original clubhouse and land sold for $300,000, which paid for the move. The Van Wart property on the new site was demolished to make way for the present building.

The clubhouse, designed by architect R.E. McDonnell, opened in 1914. Its east facade shows a cowboy on a bucking bronco, which became the club's crest. Other accounts of Calgary's early clubs, including one from the Lougheed House story on settler men's clubs, place the Ranchmen's Club among several private men's clubs of the period.

The Key to Why It Lasted

Many frontier clubs closed when the founding generation passed. The Ranchmen's Club has stayed open for more than 130 years, and its own timeline shows the practical steps behind that.

The same record shows how narrow the early membership was. Women were limited to associate status from 1925 and could not become full voting members until 1993.

  • It started small, renting rooms, and only built after it had a membership to carry the cost.
  • It sold its first clubhouse and land for $300,000 in 1912, a large gain over what it had paid for the lots in 1892.
  • It hired its first club manager, E.B. Johnson, in 1912, as operations became more complex.
  • When inspectors declared the building unsafe in 1981-82, members rebuilt the 1914 interior, kept the exterior walls and paid a $2,500 special assessment.
  • It opened its rules over time: guests of any race, creed or color in 1967, and women as full members by a 147 to 24 vote in 1993.

Ranchers, Calgary and the Cattle Business

The club's name reflects the ranching families who built Calgary's early economy, and the pages reviewed here do not list individual members' cattle holdings, so this profile does not claim any. Membership reached 135 by 1908, a sign of how quickly the town and its business class were growing.

Calgary grew from a small ranching town into a commercial center, and the club's own early membership growth mirrors that change.

Changes Through the Twentieth Century

The timeline shows a club that changed slowly. The Lady Associate membership began in 1925 with limited privileges. The first New Year's Day Levee was held in 1933. The Picture Club launched an art collection in 1949, and the club bought its first television in 1954.

Women gained access to the entire clubhouse in 2000, when the Gentlemen Only sign came off the billiard room door. Dena Dixon became the first female president in 2019, and Kimberley Iwamoto the first female general manager in 2016.

Learn More

A general summary appears in the Wikipedia article on the club. The club is private, so access is by membership or invitation. For stories about the ranching families of Western Canada and the American West, see the ranching section of farm.FM and a farm.FM story about Alberta ranch history.

Timeline

  1. 1890Club first rents rooms in the Lougheed Block and Mariaggi's Restaurant
  2. 1891Pack of Western Wolves formally establishes the club on May 5
  3. 1892New clubhouse completed on McIntyre Avenue for about $8,000
  4. 1912Property bought for $78,000; first club manager hired
  5. 1914Present clubhouse opens, designed by R.E. McDonnell
  6. 1925Lady Associate membership created
  7. 1967Barriers based on race, creed or color removed for guests
  8. 1983Grand re-opening after reconstruction of the interior
  9. 1993Members vote 147 to 24 to admit women as full members

Frequently asked questions

When was the Ranchmen's Club founded?

The club was formally established on May 5, 1891, in Calgary by a group calling itself the Pack of Western Wolves, after renting rooms in 1890 and leasing space above Mariaggi's Restaurant.

Where is the Ranchmen's Club clubhouse?

It is in downtown Calgary, Alberta, in a building designed by R.E. McDonnell that opened in 1914. Its east facade shows a cowboy on a bucking bronco, which is the club crest.

Who was Sir James Lougheed's role in the club?

In 1912 Sir James Lougheed arranged for the club to buy its current property for $78,000. The earlier clubhouse and land were sold for $300,000.

Can women join the Ranchmen's Club?

Yes. Members voted 147 to 24 in 1993 to allow women as full voting members, and Dena Dixon became the first female president in 2019.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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