Located just east of Calgary, Strathmore began life in the early 1900s as a railway stop for immigrant farmers settling on the surrounding lands. A massive irrigation scheme brought labourers, farmers and businessmen to Strathmore and in 1911 it incorporated as town. In the First World War every single able-bodied man in Strathmore enlisted in the military, the only place in Canada where this occurred. The war took a heavy toll and as the railway diminished in importance, growth stalled until after the Second World War. Then Strathmore's proximity to Calgary and location along the Trans-Canada Highway caused another population boom so that now Strathmore is one of the fastest growing towns in Alberta.