Lacombe, Alberta

For the missionary this community is named after, see Albert Lacombe.
Lacombe
City
City of Lacombe

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Motto: "People, Pride, Progress"
Lacombe

Location of Lacombe in Alberta

Coordinates: 52°28′06″N 113°44′13″W / 52.46833°N 113.73694°W / 52.46833; -113.73694Coordinates: 52°28′06″N 113°44′13″W / 52.46833°N 113.73694°W / 52.46833; -113.73694
Country Canada
Province Alberta
Region Central Alberta
Census division 8
Municipal district Lacombe County
Incorporated[1]  
 • Village July 28, 1896
 • Town May 5, 1902
 • City September 5, 2010
Government[2]
 • Mayor Steve Christie
 • Governing body
 • CAO Norma MacQuarrie
 • MP Blaine Calkins (Cons-Wetaskiwin)
 • MLA Ron Orr (Wildrose), Lacombe-Ponoka)
Area (2011)[3]
 • Total 20.89 km2 (8.07 sq mi)
Elevation[4] 855 m (2,805 ft)
Population (2011)[3]
 • Total 11,707
 • Density 560.3/km2 (1,451/sq mi)
 • Municipal census (2014) 12,728[5]
Demonym(s) Lacombian[6]
Time zone MST (UTC−7)
 • Summer (DST) MDT (UTC−6)
Postal code span T4L
Area code(s) +1-403
Highways Highway 2A
Highway 12
Website Official website

Lacombe /ləˈkoʊm/ is a city in Alberta, Canada. It is located 24.6 kilometres (15.3 mi) north of Red Deer, the nearest major city, and 125 kilometres (78 mi) south of Edmonton, the nearest metropolitan area. The city is set in the rolling parkland of central Alberta, between the Rocky Mountains foothills to the west, and the flatter Alberta prairie to the east.

Lacombe became Alberta's 17th city on September 5, 2010.[7]

History

Downtown Lacombe in 1908

Lacombe is named after Albert Lacombe (28 February 1827 — 12 December 1916), a French-Canadian Roman Catholic Oblate missionary who lived among and evangelized the Cree and Blackfoot First Nations of western Canada.[8] He is now remembered for having brokered a peace between the Cree and Blackfoot, negotiating construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway through Blackfoot territory, and securing a promise from the Blackfoot leader Crowfoot to refrain from joining the North-West Rebellion of 1885. The Lacombe Police Service have policed the community since 1900.

In 1880 the first land surveys of the Lacombe area took place and three years later, in 1883,[9] the first permanent settler arrived, Ed Barnett. Barnett was a retired member of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) who had served a mere three years. He left Fort Macleod in August 1881 at 23 years of age. According to one account, in 1878, Barnett escorted Chief Sitting Bull and his people from the Canada–US border. Along the Calgary-Edmonton Trail, he established a "stopping house" for travelers on a land grant given to him for serving his service in the NWMP. His family and friends from Ontario moved out and the community began to grow. The stopping house then became known as Barnett's Siding.[10][11]

The Canadian Pacific Railway arrived in 1891. This provided better access to the area and new opportunities for settlement. By 1893 the downtown blocks and lots were surveyed. Village status was granted in 1896 and town status in 1902.[11]

In 1907, the federal government set up an experimental farm to research grain and livestock production.[12] The President of the C.P.R. William Van Horne renamed Barnett's Siding as Lacombe in honour of Father Lacombe.[13]

Geography

Climate

Lacombe experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb).

Demographics

The population of the City of Lacombe according to its 2014 municipal census is 12,728,[5] a 8.5% change from its 2009 municipal census population of 11,733.[36]

In the 2011 Census, the City of Lacombe had a population of 11,707 living in 4,413 of its 4,686 total dwellings, an 8.9% change from its 2006 adjusted population of 10,752. With a land area of 20.89 km2 (8.07 sq mi), it had a population density of 560.4/km2 (1,451.5/sq mi) in 2011.[3]

In 2006, Lacombe had a population of 10,742 living in 4,037 dwellings, a 14.5% increase from 2001. The city has a land area of 18.24 km2 (7.04 sq mi) and a population density of 588.8/km2 (1,525/sq mi).[37]

Economy

Nestled in one of Central Alberta's most fertile valleys between Calgary and Edmonton, the local economy includes a strong agricultural base supplemented by oil and gas industry.

The city is also home to the Lacombe Research Centre where the first livestock breed developed in Canada, the Lacombe hog, was produced.[38]

Lacombe Research Centre

For more than a century, the federal government has funded agricultural research through a network of research centres strategically placed in almost every province. This research program has played a major role in developing the more than $120-billion Canadian agrifood industry.[39]

The Lacombe Research Centre (LRC) is one of a network of 19 national agricultural research centres operated by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The Centre conducts research in field crops and livestock production relevant to the central Alberta region. The Centre’s main research focuses on the factors that influence red meat: yield, quality, safety and preservation. The Centre also develops integrated, sustainable crop and animal production systems and crop varieties for the short-season environments of the parkland and northwestern Canada.[40]

The LRC developed a variety of hog called Lacombe. Work began in 1947. It took 12 years to develop the 'Lacombe' variety which is noted for its characteristics suitable to the harsh prairie environment. 'Lacombe' is 55% Danish Landrace, 22% Chester White, and 23% Berkshire. The 'Lacombe' hog was the first livestock breed to be developed in Canada.[41][42]

Beaverlodge and Fort Vermilion Part of the Lacombe Research Centre

The Beaverlodge Research Farm and its sub-station Fort Vermilion are part of the Lacombe Research Centre and form the most northern agricultural research establishment in Canada. The Beaverlodge Research Farm specializes in research and development of technology for improved production systems for crops, honey bees and other pollinating insects adapted to environmental conditions in northwestern Canada. Research at the Fort Vermilion site focuses primarily on the adaptation of technologies for this northern agricultural area.[40]

Education

Northern Lights over Burman University (formerly Canadian University College) in Lacombe

The city's Seventh-day Adventist college, Burman University (formerly Canadian University College), was established near Lacombe in 1909 and continues to operate today. It and the nearby Hamlet of College Heights was annexed by Lacombe in 2000.[43][44]

Lacombe is home to many public schools within the Wolf Creek Public School Division, including École Secondaire Lacombe Composite High School – a Grade 10-12 school with approximately 800 students that recently underwent extensive renovations completed in 2009. Other public schools include École J.S. McCormick School (K-3), École Lacombe Upper Elementary School (4-6), Terrace Ridge School (K-7), École Lacombe Junior High School (7-9), and Lacombe Outreach School.

The city's private schools include Lacombe Christian School (K-9), Central Alberta Christian High School (10-12), College Heights Christian School (K-9) and Parkview Adventist Academy (10-12), as well as Father Lacombe Catholic School (K-9).

Architecture

Several times, the main street of this community has been used in films, since it was remodelled to resemble a town in the early 1900s. Lacombe's Main Street is lined with restored Edwardian buildings in the downtown. Most prominent of these is the iconic Flatiron Building which today houses the Flatiron Museum and Interpretive Centre. The downtown area also has the oldest operating blacksmith shop, which is now the Lacombe Blacksmith Shop Museum and the Michener House Museum and Archives, which is the oldest remaining building in Lacombe as well as the birthplace of the Rt. Hon. Roland Michener, Canada's Governor General from 1967-1974.

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ "Location and History Profile: City of Lacombe" (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. June 17, 2016. p. 64. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Municipal Officials Search". Alberta Municipal Affairs. November 18, 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2011 and 2006 censuses". Statistics Canada. 2012-02-08. Retrieved 2012-02-08.
  4. ↑ "Alberta Private Sewage Systems 2009 Standard of Practice Handbook: Appendix A.3 Alberta Design Data (A.3.A. Alberta Climate Design Data by Town)" (PDF) (PDF). Safety Codes Council. January 2012. pp. 212–215 (PDF pages 226–229). Retrieved October 8, 2013.
  5. 1 2 "City Council Agenda Report: 2014 Census Report" (PDF). City of Lacombe. July 14, 2014. pp. 22 26. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
  6. ↑ http://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/bien-well/fra-eng/vocabulaire-vocabulary/demonyms-eng.html
  7. ↑ Alberta Queen's Printer. "Order in Council (O.C.) 223/2010". Retrieved 2010-07-15.
  8. ↑ Town of Lacombe (February 2007). "History". Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  9. ↑ Most historical accounts give 1883 for the arrival of Barnett. Barnett's grandson, Doug Barnett, gives the date 1884. He writes: "In February 1883 he travelled north in a buckboard with four horses as far as the Red Deer River. The only source of supplies was by a wagon train running every week or so between Calgary and Edmonton. Ed came across a couple of drifters and the three of them built a log cabin by the Red Deer River where they remained over the winter of 1883-84. They survived the winter on a diet of rabbit and flour until spring brought a welcome addition of ducks and geese from the south. Barnett was still looking for a good place to start ranching and farming. He therefore moved farther north in the summer of 1884, across the Blindman River to the area where Lacombe stands today." See Barnett, Doug. Ed Barnett: from mountie to rancher. Alberta History. Jun 22, 2007. Accessed 03-20-2011.
  10. ↑ City of Lacombe website. Lacombe Police Service (LPS) History. Accessed 03-20-2011
  11. 1 2 City of Lacombe website. Section 2, Heart of Town Area. 2.1 History. Accessed 03-20-2011
  12. ↑ Alberta Online Encyclopedia. Alberta's Francophone Heritage. Town and area of Lacombe, the railway. Accessed 03-20-2011
  13. ↑ Hulgaard and, W. J.; White, J. W., "Honoured in places: remembered mounties across Canada", Heritage House Publishing Co, 2002, p. 19
  14. ↑ Environment Canada—Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  15. ↑ "Table IX: Population of cities, towns and incorporated villages in 1906 and 1901 as classed in 1906". Census of the Northwest Provinces, 1906. Sessional Paper No. 17a. Ottawa: Government of Canada. 1907. p. 100.
  16. ↑ "Table I: Area and Population of Canada by Provinces, Districts and Subdistricts in 1911 and Population in 1901". Census of Canada, 1911. Volume I. Ottawa: Government of Canada. 1912. p. 2-39.
  17. ↑ "Table I: Population of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta by Districts, Townships, Cities, Towns, and Incorporated Villages in 1916, 1911, 1906, and 1901". Census of Prairie Provinces, 1916. Population and Agriculture. Ottawa: Government of Canada. 1918. p. 77-140.
  18. ↑ "Table 8: Population by districts and sub-districts according to the Redistribution Act of 1914 and the amending act of 1915, compared for the census years 1921, 1911 and 1901". Census of Canada, 1921. Ottawa: Government of Canada. 1922. p. 169-215.
  19. ↑ "Table 7: Population of cities, towns and villages for the province of Alberta in census years 1901-26, as classed in 1926". Census of Prairie Provinces, 1926. Census of Alberta, 1926. Ottawa: Government of Canada. 1927. p. 565-567.
  20. ↑ "Table 12: Population of Canada by provinces, counties or census divisions and subdivisions, 1871-1931". Census of Canada, 1931. Ottawa: Government of Canada. 1932. p. 98-102.
  21. ↑ "Table 4: Population in incorporated cities, towns and villages, 1901-1936". Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1936. Volume I: Population and Agriculture. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1938. p. 833-836.
  22. ↑ "Table 10: Population by census subdivisions, 1871–1941". Eighth Census of Canada, 1941. Volume II: Population by Local Subdivisions. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1944. p. 134-141.
  23. ↑ "Table 6: Population by census subdivisions, 1926-1946". Census of the Prairie Provinces, 1946. Volume I: Population. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1949. p. 401-414.
  24. ↑ "Table 6: Population by census subdivisions, 1871–1951". Ninth Census of Canada, 1951. Volume I: Population, General Characteristics. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1953. p. 6.73-6.83.
  25. ↑ "Table 6: Population by sex, for census subdivisions, 1956 and 1951". Census of Canada, 1956. Population, Counties and Subdivisions. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1957. p. 6.50-6.53.
  26. ↑ "Table 6: Population by census subdivisions, 1901–1961". 1961 Census of Canada. Series 1.1: Historical, 1901–1961. Volume I: Population. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1963. p. 6.77-6.83.
  27. ↑ "Population by specified age groups and sex, for census subdivisions, 1966". Census of Canada, 1966. Population, Specified Age Groups and Sex for Counties and Census Subdivisions, 1966. Ottawa: Dominion Bureau of Statistics. 1968. p. 6.50-6.53.
  28. ↑ "Table 2: Population of Census Subdivisions, 1921–1971". 1971 Census of Canada. Volume I: Population, Census Subdivisions (Historical). Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1973. p. 2.102-2.111.
  29. ↑ "Table 3: Population for census divisions and subdivisions, 1971 and 1976". 1976 Census of Canada. Census Divisions and Subdivisions, Western Provinces and the Territories. Volume I: Population, Geographic Distributions. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1977. p. 3.40-3.43.
  30. ↑ "Table 4: Population and Total Occupied Dwellings, for Census Divisions and Subdivisions, 1976 and 1981". 1981 Census of Canada. Volume II: Provincial series, Population, Geographic distributions (Alberta). Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1982. p. 4.1-4.10. ISBN 0-660-51095-2.
  31. ↑ "Table 2: Census Divisions and Subdivisions – Population and Occupied Private Dwellings, 1981 and 1986". Census Canada 1986. Population and Dwelling Counts – Provinces and Territories (Alberta). Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1987. p. 2.1-2.10. ISBN 0-660-53463-0.
  32. ↑ "Table 2: Population and Dwelling Counts, for Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 1986 and 1991 – 100% Data". 91 Census. Population and Dwelling Counts – Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1992. p. 100-108. ISBN 0-660-57115-3.
  33. ↑ "Table 10: Population and Dwelling Counts, for Census Divisions, Census Subdivisions (Municipalities) and Designated Places, 1991 and 1996 Censuses – 100% Data". 96 Census. A National Overview – Population and Dwelling Counts. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1997. p. 136-146. ISBN 0-660-59283-5.
  34. ↑ "Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Divisions, 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
  35. ↑ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2012-04-02.
  36. ↑ "Alberta 2009 Official Population List" (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. September 15, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  37. ↑ Statistics Canada. "Canada 2006 Census: Lacombe - Community Profile". Retrieved 2007-06-12.
  38. ↑ "First Livestock Breed Developed in Canada". Edmonton Journal. 2005-05-27. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  39. ↑ Jones, Stephen Morgan, "Research Stations, Agricultural", The Canadian Encyclopedia Accessed 03-20-2011
  40. 1 2 Lacombe Research Centre Accessed 03-20-2011
  41. ↑ Pukite, John (1999). A field guide to pigs. Helena, Montana. Falcon Publishing.
  42. ↑ Blair, R., "Pig Farming", The Canadian Encyclopedia Accessed 03-20-2011
  43. ↑ "Board Order: MGB 042/00" (PDF). Municipal Government Board. March 10, 2000. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  44. ↑ "Order in Council (O.C.) 135/2000" (PDF). Province of Alberta. April 12, 2000. Retrieved November 20, 2012.
  45. ↑ "Grand opening of Anna Maria's Coffee Bar in LMC". www.lacombe.ca. 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2008-04-19.
  46. ↑ Hamilton, S. N. (2009) Impersonations: troubling the person in law and culture. University of Toronto Press, pp. 79, 80
  47. ↑ http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=5971ce27-b402-440a-978a-5c8d5e6bd770&sponsor=

Further reading

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