as told by William Laidlaw pg 681 Big Hill Country 1977
William and Agnes King, their two sons, Adam and Billy, and four daughters, Jean, Maggie, Lizzie and May, came from Manitoulin Island, Ontario, in 1904. They purchased the Jim Reid place (the NE4 22-27-3-5), and Adam and Billy homesteaded the SW and SE quarters of 22 respectively. In later years the family added
several more quarters of land to their holdings, which became known as the Sunset Ranch.
Another son, Jim, who was a Boer War veteran’, homesteaded at Michichi, Alberta. He married and had a family of two daughters and three sons. Jean married James Briggs.
The Scotch Kings, as the family was called, were hard workers and staunch supporters of the Lochend Church. They built a large house, which still stands in a grove of tall spruces which they planted. The girls were keen gardeners, and always had a big vegetable patch and beautiful flowers.
Billy King was elected a Member of the Legislative Assembly when Social Credit was swept into power in Alberta in 1935. He was the M.L.A. for this constituency from 1935 until 1939.
Mr. and Mrs. King and Adam passed away while living at the ranch. The ranch was sold to Cleo Reilly in 1945, at which time Billy, Maggie, Lizzie and May moved to Calgary. Gardening became their hobby, and the grounds at their home on Elbow Drive have always been beautiful, as well as very productive. Billy, Maggie, and Lizzie have passed away.
The King’s Sunset Ranch is presently owned by the Robert Ellis and Leon Doty families.
