Piegan–Carway Border Crossing

The Piegan–Carway Border Crossing connects the towns of Babb, Montana, and Cardston, Alberta, on the Canada–United States border. U.S. Route 89 on the American side joins Alberta Highway 2 on the Canadian side.

Piegan–Carway Border Crossing
Canada Border Inspection Station at Carway, AB, 1959
Location
CountryUnited States; Canada
Location
Coordinates48°59′53″N 113°22′44″W
Details
Opened1926
US Phone(406) 732-5572
Can Phone(403) 653-3009
Hours8:00am – 6:00pm
Website
US Canadian

Canadian side

The earliest customs service in the region began around 5 kilometres (3 mi) eastward at St. Mary's Crossing on the Saint Mary River in 1883, where the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) collected duties and patrolled the border. St. Mary's closed in 1901.[1] At that time, the Cardston customs postal collecting station upgraded to a customs office, operating from 1901 until 1943.[2] In 1904, the St. Mary's NWMP moved to Twin Lakes (present day Police Outpost Provincial Park, about 6 kilometres (4 mi) westward). Based about one mile north of border, the NWMP collected duties until a regular customs office opened, which operated from 1912 until 1932.[3]

The Carway crossing was established in 1926 with the completion of the Cardston Highway. Canada Customs officer Herbert Legg created the name by combining the words Cardston and Highway. Prior to the erection of the building, a tent was used for four months. William Roberts was the inaugural customs officer from 1926 until 1938. The Port of Lethbridge provided administrative oversight.[4]

The customs building was replaced in 1954.[5]

In 1994, the border station hours were extended to match the 7am–11pm on the US side.[6]

In 2020, the hours of 7am–11pm were reduced, becoming 8am–6pm.[7]

US side
US Border Station at Piegan MT, 1933
US Border Inspection Station at Piegan, MT, 2004

The customs station opened in 1926.[8]

A station operated in Browning from 1934 until 1946.[9]

The highway connects Calgary with Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. This crossing is the third-busiest in Montana. Twenty homes for US border officials are near the station.[10] The US replaced the 1933 log cabin-style border station, which is on the National Register of Historic Places,[11] with the current facility in 2003.

In 2020, the US similarly reduced border station hours.[12]

See also

Footnotes
  1. Legg 1962, p. 240–242.
  2. Legg 1962, pp. 41–42.
  3. Legg 1962, pp. 254–255.
  4. Legg 1962, pp. 44, 46.
  5. "Calgary Herald". www.newspapers.com. 13 Nov 1954. p. 36. The new customs and immigration building at the entry port of Carway south of Cardston was dedicated….
  6. "Calgary Herald". www.newspapers.com. 24 Aug 1994. p. 19. Carway…will be open 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. year round. The hours will now correspond with those at the U.S. Customs border office in Port of Piegan….
  7. "CBA: Fact Sheet: COVID-19 – Temporary reduction of service at Canadian land border crossings". www.canada.ca. 14 Apr 2020.
  8. "Calgary Herald". www.newspapers.com. 28 Aug 1926. p. 17. The name of Carway has been selected for the new custom station on the Canadian side of the line and Peigan for the American customs station across the border.
  9. "CBP: St. Mary Station". www.cbp.gov. 11 Mar 2014.
  10. "Chapter 5: The 49th Parallel". United Divide: A Linear Portrait of the USA/Canada Border. The Center for Land Use Interpretation. Winter 2015.
  11. "Babb--Piegan Inspection Station". livingnewdeal.org.
  12. "CBP Continues Temporary Reduced Hours at Ports of Entry in Idaho and Montana". www.cbp.gov. 23 Apr 2021.

References
  • Legg, Herbert (1962). Customs Services in Western Canada, 1867–1925. The Creston Review Ltd.
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