Leavitt, Alberta

Leavitt is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within Cardston County, located about 13 kilometres (8 mi) west of Cardston on Highway 5. It falls within the Canadian federal electoral district of Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner.

The first settler of the area was Thomas Rowell Leavitt, a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) from Utah Territory who came to Alberta fleeing a United States government crackdown on polygamy during a wave of late nineteenth century Latter-day Saint emigration to Canada and Mexico. The settlement's first name was Buffalo Flats, but it was subsequently changed to Leavitt in honour of the early Latter-day Saint settler.

Cardston was the first Latter-day Saint settlement in Canada, and Leavitt was founded by a like-minded Latter-day Saint. Thomas Rowell Leavitt was born in Hatley, Quebec, Canada in 1834. Early converts to Mormonism, his parents subsequently moved to Utah. He had 26 children: 12 with his wife Ann Eliza; 9 with wife Antoinette; and 5 with Harriet Martha. Four chlldren died in their infancy, leaving 22 children who grew to adulthood. Twenty of the 22 eventually chose to remain in Canada as citizens, and today there are many Leavitts in the region, descendants of the original pioneer.

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