The Town of Trochu celebrated its centennial in 2011 and has come a long way from a little settlement in the valley.
Armand Trochu, a Frenchman, arrived in 1903 at the spring-fed valley with the plan to raise horses. He and some partners established the St. Anne Ranch which expanded to include a post office in 1906 and a hospital and school run by the Sisters of Notre Dame d’Evron (1909).
The settlement moved up on the hill starting in 1909 when word came that the Grant Trunk Pacific Railroad would come through Trochu. The village was incorporated in 1911.
A vibrant farming community grew, in spite of the Depression and World War II. As many as five grain elevators lined the tracks where one wooden sentinel remains today. The coal industry boomed east of town, dying in the 1960’s with the change over to natural gas.
The oil and gas industries employ a number of people today, although agriculture is still king with implement dealers, farm suppliers, grain handlers, and a pork processing facility dominating the economy. A recent influx of foreign workers and their families, many from Mexico and the Phillipines has been a boost to the town, economically and culturally.
Thank you to the Trochu & District Museum for information and pictures.