Champion is a village in southern Alberta, Canada within Vulcan County. It is located on Highway 23, approximately north of Lethbridge and south of Calgary. History Homesteaders began arriving in the Champion area in 1904 and 1905, mainly from the USA, Eastern Canada, and Britain. The vast prairie grasslands, cut through by the Little Bow River, provided ideal country for farming and ranching. One of these settlers was Martin G. Clever, who arrived in 1905. He homesteaded on the quarter section of land (160 acres) where the town of Champion is currently located. The birth of the town was the product of the rapid settlement of the farming and ranching land in the area, but it was also fuelled by the discovery of coal. Homesteader Henry Therriualt opened the first coal mine in the area in 1906, and soon farmers were travelling from neighbouring towns (including Nanton and Stavely) to purchase coal from the Therriault mine. Their journey took them through the Clever homestead to reach the mine, and soon Martin Clever realized the business opportunity that presented itself. Soon, a country store and a mail route were established. When the storeowner (George Mark) applied to have a government post office located, the burgeoning settlement required a name, and in honour of Martin Clever, Cleverville was christened. Several other thriving businesses soon sprung up, thanks to Martin Clever's offer of the free use of his land: Cleverville was soon home to three general stores, a millinery and linen shop, drug store, butcher shop, blacksmith shop, livery stable, restaurant, two real estate offices, lumber yard, Bank of Hamilton, and doctor's office. In 1910 the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) reached the area, although it became apparent that the rails themselves would not run directly past Cleverville. As a result, the townspeople decided to move, using horses and skids and wagons, all of the buildings of the town to a new location closer to the railway. This new settlement required a new name, and so the relocated Cleverville became the new Village of Champion. Although there are several stories regarding how Champion got its name, the most likely (or at least the one most commonly retold) is that it was named after H.T. Champion, a banker in the Winnipeg firm Alloway and Champion, well-known bankers and loaners throughout the period of settlement of the west. The Alloway and Champion Bank in Winnipeg, Manitoba