Nestled where the Alberta prairie meets the foothills of the Canadian Rockies, this small southern Alberta community sits at the intersection of Highway 2 and Highway 519, west of Lethbridge. Residents enjoy sweeping views of the mountains of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park to the south, the Crowsnest Pass to the west, and Kananaskis Country to the northwest. Today, Granum falls under the jurisdiction of the Municipal District of Willow Creek No. 26.
The community has a layered history that stretches back well before the railroad era. The original settlement along Willow Creek was known as The Leavings, a name rooted in the practical reality that bull-team freighters once stopped there to water their animals and drop off cargo. It was also where travellers departing a river trail were advised to stock up on water before heading out. The Village of Leavings was officially incorporated on July 12, 1904, before the community adopted the name Granum on March 31, 1908. It went on to achieve town status on November 7, 1910, holding that designation for over a century before dissolving back to hamlet status on February 1, 2020. By the 2016 census, Granum’s population of 447 made it the smallest town in Alberta at the time. The 2021 census recorded 557 residents living across 190 of its 204 private dwellings, a notable increase of 37.2% from the 406 people counted in 2016. The community covers a land area of 1.89 square kilometres, giving it a population density of roughly 295 people per square kilometre. Over the years, Granum also supported a lively local press, with several newspapers serving the community between 1908 and 1921, including the Granum Times, the Granum Press, the Granum News, the Granum Herald, and the Granum Advertiser.