KERROBERT MUSEUM: Kerrobert’s First Store
William Burton Sample arrived at the site of what would soon become Kerrobert on May 4, 1910. Traveling from Lloydminster, he came to explore the “new country” in the area then known as McKinnon.
By June 10, Sample had his store up and running—initially in a tent that took three days to set up. Soon after, he was able to upgrade to a shack. Following the sale of town lots on September 14, 1910, he built his permanent store on lots 4 and 5 of Atlantic Avenue.
William Sample operated the department store until his death in 1949, after which his son Ted took over. The store stayed in the family until 1969, when Inga and Carl Robinson purchased it and renamed it Robinson’s Department Store. They ran the store until 1984, after which Alvin and Bev Dieno and Allen and Marilyn Henning operated it under the name Clothes Relations until 1991.
For a deeper look into the history of the Sample family and Kerrobert’s early “tent town,” visit the museum! We’re open Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Admission is free, and donations are always welcome.
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