Historical Society

Did You Know?

Changes to Lethbridge’s Curfew Bylaw, 1947

In 1909, Lethbridge City Council passed the original Lethbridge Curfew Bylaw –Bylaw 49. Under this by-law, no unaccompanied children were allowed on the streets after 9 pm in summer or 8 pm in winter. A curfew bell rang to announce when the curfew was in effect.

The original curfew bell was the bell from the “Alberta” steamboat and is now part of the Galt Museum & Archives collection.

In 1947, the curfew bylaw was updated and the bell replaced by a siren. The changes to the bylaw were the result of the growth of the city. On April 21, 1909, when the first curfew bylaw was passed here, a bell could be heard all over the city. By 1947, a powerful siren was necessary to carry the warning signal throughout the city. Under the 1947 curfew bylaw the siren was sounded for 15 second each night at 9:15 pm standard time or 10:15 daylight saving time. The bylaw remains to this day, but the siren has long gone silent.

Lethbridge Historical Society

facebook.com/LethbridgeHistoricalSociety/ Photograph: compliments of Galt Museum & Archives.