Roughly two hours southwest of Edmonton near Alder Flats you’ll find a slice of the wild west.
Walking the streets of Em-Te Town is like going back in time.
The authentic western frontier village was built in 1980 by a man named Leonard Mohr.
He lived there until he sold the property in 1989. That summer, the new owners opened Em-Te Town to the public — turning it into a resort.
It became a popular place where people could camp, or host events like weddings and family reunions.
It changed hands a few times over the years, and ultimately closed in 2018.
Rex Austin owned Em-Te Town for a decade from 2008 to 2018. He upgraded much of the infrastructure and built new structures.
He didn’t necessarily want to give it up.
“What happened was I ran another business for 32 years, and this got to be too much to run both at the same time,” Austin explained.
“We thought it might make a nice sideline — we loved the concept and turned out to be more than a sideline.”
The property is up for sale and could be yours for a cool $1.25 million.
“It’s basically a tourist attraction with a twist,” Re/Max Elite real estate agent Darin Baxandall said.
“It’s recreational, it’s event-centered, it’s on a creek, it’s on crown land — and it’s kind of in the middle of almost nowhere.”
Baxandall said interest in the property has steadily increased. Many want it, but can’t afford it.
“It’s tough to finance, because it’s a seasonal business, it’s a campground business — banks require quite a bit down to make it operational,” he explained.
According to Austin, there’s been more interest recently because of the pandemic.
“A lot of people, it seems, are looking to get out of town,” he said.
“It is viable. I would hope that somebody would take it on as a labour of love.”