Didsbury, Alberta
Encyclopedia
Didsbury is a town in central
Central Alberta
Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province...
Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, at the foothills
Foothills
Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...
of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
.
Located next to Alberta Highway 2A, near the Queen Elizabeth II Highway, Didsbury is within the Calgary-Edmonton corridor
Calgary-Edmonton Corridor
The Calgary–Edmonton Corridor is a geographical region of the Canadian province of Alberta. It is the most urbanized area in Alberta and is one of Canada's four most urban regions. It consists of Statistics Canada census divisions No. 11, No. 8, and No. 6. Measured from north to south, the region...
. Didsbury is approximately the half-way point between the cities of Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
and Red Deer
Red Deer, Alberta
Red Deer is a city in Central Alberta, Canada. It is located near the midpoint of the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor and is surrounded by Red Deer County. It is Alberta's third-most-populous city – after Calgary and Edmonton. The city is located in aspen parkland, a region of rolling hills...
.
The town is the county seat of the rural Mountain View County
Mountain View County, Alberta
Mountain View County is a municipal district in Division No. 6 in the central Alberta, Canada. It is located between the cities of Calgary and Red Deer within the Calgary-Edmonton corridor. Mountain View County is a member of the Central Alberta Economic Partnership, Alberta Association of...
. The nearest neighboring communities are the towns of Olds and Carstairs
Carstairs, Alberta
Carstairs is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 2A, south of the provincial capital, Edmonton, and north of Calgary, the nearest major city. The closest neighbouring communities are the towns of Didsbury and Crossfield...
.
History
The town is named after the townshipTownship
The word township is used to refer to different kinds of settlements in different countries. Township is generally associated with an urban area. However there are many exceptions to this rule. In Australia, the United States, and Canada, they may be settlements too small to be considered urban...
of Didsbury
Didsbury
Didsbury is a suburban area of the City of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre, in the southern half of the Greater Manchester Urban Area...
, now a suburban area of Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England. The first settlers were Dutch Mennonites who left their homes in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
and emigrated as United Empire Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
to Waterloo County, Ontario
Waterloo County, Ontario
Waterloo County, created in 1853 and dissolved in 1973, was the forerunner of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada. It consisted of five townships: Woolwich, Wellesley, Wilmot, Waterloo, and North Dumfries...
. They were granted the area around Didsbury in 1894 by the government of Sir John A. MacDonald
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald, GCB, KCMG, PC, PC , QC was the first Prime Minister of Canada. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, his political career spanned almost half a century...
.
1897 saw the arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
, which pushed forward the town's development. The CPR constructed a station in the town in 1904. Didsbury was incorporated as a village in 1905 and as a town on September 6, 1906.
Fires in 1914 and 1924 destroyed the early "boomtown
Boomtown
A boomtown is a community that experiences sudden and rapid population and economic growth. The growth is normally attributed to the nearby discovery of a precious resource such as gold, silver, or oil, although the term can also be applied to communities growing very rapidly for different reasons,...
" commercial streetscape and led to the passing by Town Council of a bylaw which required masonry construction for all new downtown commercial buildings. Many of these brick buildings stand today.
Demographics
The population of the Town of Didsbury according to its 2008 municipal census is 4,599.In 2006, Didsbury had a population of 4,275 living in 1,726 dwellings
House
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, a 8.7% increase from 2001. The town has a land area of 5.47 km² (2.1 sq mi) and a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 782 /km2.
Infrastructure
The town's recreational facilities include six parks, a golf course, aquatic centre, and a hockey rink. There is also a hospital and a Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...
detachment serving the town and the surrounding area.
Didsbury has three schools that are under the jurisdiction of the Chinook's Edge School Division.
The Olds-Didsbury Airport
Olds-Didsbury Airport
Olds-Didsbury Airport, , is located next to Alberta Highway 2A, south of the Town of Olds, Alberta and north of the Town of Didsbury, Alberta, Canada.-External links:* on COPA's Places to Fly airport directory...
, which is used primarily for small aircraft and general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
, is located north of Didsbury along Highway 2A.
Organizations
Organizations present in Didsbury include the Royal Canadian Army CadetsRoyal Canadian Army Cadets
The Royal Canadian Army Cadets is a Canadian national youth program sponsored by the Canadian Forces and the civilian Army Cadet League of Canada. Administered by the Canadian Forces, the program is funded through the Department of National Defence with the civilian partner providing support in...
and the 1st Didsbury Scouts, as well as the Elks
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
and Lions clubs.