Glenn was an Irish immigrant who first settled in the United States in 1849 and served in the American Civil War.

He would then travel to British Columbia before settling in Calgary in 1873 with his wife Adelaide (née Belcourt), and built a small log cabin near the confluence of Fish Creek and the Bow River - in today's Fish Creek Provincial Park.

Upon arriving in the United States he decided to travel to Waco, Texas, where he took employment on a ranch.

He served during this period under General William Tecumseh Sherman until the end of the Civil War in 1865.

He then travelled around the United States, working in mines and in 1867 he moved to British Columbia and then on to Barkerville (along with James Votier and Sam Livingston - who would later become his neighbours in the Calgary area).

When they reached Fish Creek, they were impressed by the rich soil and decided to make their home there.

After three years the farm constituted 9 acres (36,000 m2) sown with oats and barley, a garden, and a hay meadow.

[3] There John Glenn started the construction of his historic irrigation system, which diverted water from Fish Creek to nearby hay fields.