pg 207 More Big Hill Country 2009
Cochrane RCMP Detachment Cochrane Detachment was first opened in 1907 under the jurisdiction of “E” Division with headquarters at Calgary. There was a Corporal stationed at Cochrane that first year but the detachment usually consisted of one Constable. I am unable to provide the names of these first members except for a Constable Watt who was stationed there in 1914 and who played a role in the Wilson murder case. The
Cochrane Detachment remained open until 1917 when many of the detachments were closed because of the requirements of the war and the Alberta Provincial Police took over the responsibility of policing the province. Cochrane Detachment was re-opened in April of 1932 when the Force absorbed the Alberta Provincial Police and resumed provincial policing duties. Constable WB. Shaw, Regimental Number 6483, re-opened the detachment and he remained at Cochrane until Constable A.N. Brown, Regimental Number 9307, took over the detachment March 15, 1933. The Force occupied the quarters that previously had been used by the Alberta Provincial Police. Quarters were located on Second Street and were rented from the Alberta Department of Public Works. During the war some consideration was given to closing the detachment because of the lack of work in the detachment area and the proximity to Calgary but this idea was quickly abandoned. In 1950 major renovations were carried out on the building that was now commonly known as the RCMP Barracks. At this time the location is given as 2212-22nd Street. Constable C. Ross and Constable S. Grayson each served in Cochrane in these early times.
On May 29, 1957 a transport truck left the highway at the bottom of Cochrane Hill and crashed into the back of the detachment quarters. The gasoline in the truck exploded and the subsequent fire virtually destroyed the building. Temporary quarters were obtained from the Village of Cochrane in the Town Fire HaIJ at 230622nd Avenue. The Alberta government rebuilt the old quarters and built an escape road at the bottom of the hill which eliminated the sharp turn that had caused so many accidents. The temporary quarters were vacated and the detachment moved back into the restored previous quarters. A double garage had been added to the stucco bungalow.
In 1965 a Highway Patrol was added to the Cochrane Detachment establishment. bringing the total number of members to ix. The current quarters were clearly too small. Two office were rented for the detachment in the Graham’s Pharmacy building on the first floor. The old quarters continued to be used as living quarters for the member in charge and his family. The Force began to seriously look for build-for-lease a accommodation in Cochrane. Sites were difficult to find but one was finally purchased in 1967 and an agreement was signed with J. T. Miller Construction Limited. The offices in Graham’s Pharmacy building were vacated and the detachment moved into the new building on June 1. 1968, on Main Street and Centre Ave.
By 1977 the new building was in need of some repairs but the Force found that Mr. Miller was reluctant to undertake them.
In 1979 the building was sold to Mr. E. Boothby of Honeyking Industries. Little progress was made with the new owner and the Force decided that the detachment would vacate the building in 1983 when the lease expired. The building was vacated on June 14. 1983 and a new Force-owned building was occupied by the Cochrane Detachment.
As stated, the first detachment in Cochrane seems to have been started about 1907, as a result of Cochrane attaining village status as well as being an established CPR stop. In the chart on the Distribution of the Force in September 1909, taken from the book , Riders of the Plains, Cochrane is reported as having a detachment with a single constable and horse. One of the earliest, if not the first constables in Cochrane was a young Englishman, Francis Walter Davies, known as Happy Davies. He joined the Force in Regina in April 1909, and his application read that he could ride well and understood the care of horses. He was assigned to Cochrane and integrated well into the community, becoming a founding member of the Oddfellows Lodge. He wrote to his parents upon his transfer to Brooks in March 1912 “I am pretty good and getting on okay at Brooks though I wish I was back at Cockrane (sic)”. Constable Davies was killed not long afterwards in June 1912 on patrol in pursuit of some natives who had robbed and shot at a CPR worker. Although buried in the Calgary cemetery by the RNWMP, he was obviously well-liked by the locals, and a monument commemorating Frank Davies was erected and still exists in St Mary’s Cemetery in Cochrane, paid for through a subscription taken out amongst the townspeople.
By May 1918 with the formation of the Alberta Provincial Police, and the entry of the RNWMP into the war, it was a widespread belief the Force had reached the end of its history as a law enforcement body. This proved to be wrong as the provincial police and the RNWMP were merged and reconstituted as the RCMP in 1928.