Gustav Bergman

{{short description|Canadian politician}}

{{for|Swedish orienteering competitor|Gustav Bergman (orienteer)}}

Gustav C. Bergman (1872–1962) was the first elected mayor of Beverly, Alberta after Beverly was incorporated as a town in 1914.{{cite web|url= http://www.beverly-history.com/early-facts.html|title = Our Mayors from incoporation to amalgamation|website= Olde Towne Beverly Historical Society|access-date=April 1, 2020}}

Biography

Carl Gustaf Bergman was born to Swedish American parents in Paxton, Illinois. His mother was killed in an accident with a train

when Bergman was only seven years old. Because his father was unable to care for him, he was forced to work. He later attended Drake University.

He moved to Canada in the early 1900s, settling first near Erskine, Alberta, before moving to the Beverly area in 1912. He bought 36 lots in Beverly's Beacon Heights subdivision.{{cite web|url= https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-drake-university-alumni-and-students/reference|title =Gustav Bergman |website=Drake University alumni |access-date=April 1, 2020}}

When Beverly incorporated as a town in 1914, he ran for mayor, was elected and served a single term. During his term, Beverly's police force and fire brigade were established. In 1917, he moved back to Erskine and took up farming.

Bergman returned to Edmonton briefly in 1962 to attend the ceremonies marking Beverly's amalgamation with the City of Edmonton. He died later the same year and was buried in Edmonton.{{cite web|url= https://edmontonjournal.com/life/homes/buying-and-selling/what-you-get-in-beverly/ |title =About Beverly|website= Edmonton Journal|access-date=April 1, 2020}}

The Edmonton neighborhood of Bergman, located just to the north of the old Beverly townsite, was named in his honour in 1987.{{cite web|url= https://yegishome.ca/community/324-bergman|title =About Bergman |website= Beverly, Edmonton, Alberta

|access-date=April 1, 2020}}

References

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Further reading

  • Herzog, Lawrence, "Built on Coal, A History of Beverly, Edmonton's Working Class Town", Beverly Community Development Society, 2000, Edmonton, Alberta.

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Category:1872 births

Category:1962 deaths

Category:American emigrants to Canada

Category:Drake University alumni

Category:20th-century mayors of places in Alberta

Category:American people of Swedish descent

Category:Canadian people of Swedish descent

Category:People from Paxton, Illinois

{{Alberta politics}}