OKOTOKS, ALBERTA

'Okotoks' is a town situated on the Sheep River, south of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The town is a member of the Calgary Regional Partnership, a cooperative of communities within Greater Calgary. Okotoks has become a popular bedroom community for the city of Calgary. According to the 2006 Census, the city had the highest population growth between 2001 and 2006 across the country. Its population grew by 46% since 2001.
The name was originally pronounced but is now largely pronounced as . The town celebrated its centennial in 2004.

Contents

History

Geography and climate

Water conservation

Historical conservation

Demographics

Economy

Sport and recreation

Golf courses

BMX bike track

Camping

Fishing

References

External links

History

Big Rock glacial erratic

The town's name is derived from ''"o'kotok"'', the Blackfoot First Nation word for "Big Rock", but is also often simply known as "Rock City". The rock being referred to is the world's largest known glacial erratic which is situated about 8 km west of the town.
Before European settlement, journeying First Nations used the rock as a marker to find the river crossing situated at Okotoks. The tribes were nomadic and often followed large buffalo herds for their sustenance. David Thompson explored the area as early as 1800. Soon trading posts sprang up, including one established in 1874 at the Sheep River crossing on the current Okotoks townsite. This crossing was on a trade route called the Macleod Trail, which lead from Fort Benton, Montana to Calgary.
In 1879, the area saw the killing of the last buffalo. Government leasing of land for one cent per acre ($2.47/km²) began in 1880. This created a major change in the region.
The last stagecoach stopped in Okotoks in 1891 when rail service between Calgary and Fort Macleod replaced horse-drawn travel. By 1897 the community name had changed three times: from Sheep Creek to Dewdney to Okotoks, assigned by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The rail line is still a main line south to the U.S. border, but the last of the passenger service (Dayliner unit) ended in 1971.^[1]
Okotoks, like much of southern Alberta, suffered major flooding in June 2005. Virtually all regions adjacent to the Sheep River, including the central business district, were at least briefly flooded, with the most serious damage being inflicted to riverside pathways, parks and campgrounds.^[2]
However, one decade prior to the June 2005 flood, Okotoks and the surrounding area suffered a massive flood in 1995.

Geography and climate

★ Average hours of sunshine per day: 6.34

★ Chinook average: 25 days

★ Frost free days: 112

★ Mean rainfall per year: 11.8 in (300 mm)

★ Mean snowfall per year: 60 in (153 cm)

★ Mean total precipitation: 16.7 in (424 mm)

★ Number of days with precipitation: 113

★ Distance to Calgary City Centre: 32 km

Water conservation

The Sheep River runs through Okotoks year round. Artesian wells near the river supply the town with its water. In September 1998, Okotoks became one of the first communities in Canada to recognize its environmental limits to growth were restricted by the carrying capacity of the local watershed. In concern for the supply of water, the town announced a unique and controversial suggestion of capping its population at 25,000 residents. ^[3] In an interview on ''The Current'', Mayor Bill McAlpine stated that this objective may be politically difficult due to the rapid growth in the surrounding region. ^[4]

Historical conservation

Residents of the town are proud of their heritage. Numerous old buildings have been restored, and one house was even resituated^[5] blocks away to avoid destruction by the widening of the highway through the town site.

Demographics

In 2006, Okotoks had a population of 17,145 living in 5,927 dwellings, a 46.7% increase from 2001. The town has a land area of and a population density of .

Economy

Okotoks had its own lumber mill. Established in 1891, for 25 years John Lineham's sawmill was a major part of the local economy. At one time it employed 135 people, producing an average of 30,000 feet (9,000 m) of lumber per day. The growth of the Canadian Pacific Railway created a demand for railway ties and the mill helped meet that demand. Logs were brought down from the west via the Sheep River. The mill has long since shut down, but the building (one of the oldest remaining in the township) still stands. It housed an award-winning (butter) dairy from the 1920s to the 1940s. It currently houses a law office and restaurant.
In 1900, just west of Okotoks, four brick making plants were opened. Many of the first brick buildings in Okotoks (of which a number still exist) were constructed using locally-made brick. When the little industry had reached its peak in 1912, twelve million bricks were manufactured that year. The outbreak of World War I caused the shutdown of “Sandstone” as it was known.
By 1906 the population had hit 1900, a figure that would not be reached again until 1977.
Oil was discovered west of Okotoks in 1913. Okotoks became the supply centre. In its heyday, from 1913 to the 1960s, Okotoks was busy with horses, wagons, and transports hauling all types of equipment to the oil fields, and crude oil back through town to refineries in Calgary.
The Texas Gulf sulphur plant (known as CanOxy) opened in 1959, employing 45 people. It was not unusual to see the bright yellow, three-story high, block-long, block-wide sulphur storage waiting to be melted or ground up and poured into railway cars.
Since the 1974, Okotoks has been hosting a collector car auction in late May. It is the longest running collector car auction in Canada.
Okotoks was one of the few communities its size to have its own airport. A number of small air shows were held there over the years. It was the home of an aircraft charter company, flight school, and a helicopter flying school. The site has now evolved into an airpark community called the Okotoks Air Ranch, where the property owners, if they wish, can build homes with attached hangars for their private planes.
The town of Okotoks became a case study for the Microsoft Corporation and earned a page on Microsoft’s website.^[6]

Sport and recreation

In July of 2004 Okotoks, High River, and the Municipal District of Foothills hosted the Alberta Summer Games. More than 3,200 athletes competed in 17 sports. In the three-day competition, the largest in its 30 year history, 512 medals were handed out.
Okotoks is home of the following sports teams:
;Hockey

★ Okotoks Oilers of the Alberta Junior Hockey League

★ Okotoks Bisons of the Heritage Junior B Hockey League

★ The Oilers minor hockey team
;Baseball

★ The Okotoks Dawgs will begin play in the Western Major Baseball League in 2007.
;Swimming

★ Okotoks Stingrays swim club
;Lacrosse

★ Okotoks Ice - Tier II

★ Okotoks Icemen - Tier III

Golf courses

The ''D'Arcy Ranch Golf Course'' is one of Western Canada’s most unique golf courses. The terrain has been left in the most natural state possible, providing both novices and experts alike with an exciting and challenging game.
The ''River's Edge Golf Course'' is an 18-hole, grass-green course on the banks of the Sheep River 5 km east of Okotoks.
The ''Crystal Ridge Golf Club'' opened on August 8th 2004 with great reviews. The 9-hole, 3125-yard, par 35 track features water and rockwork on every hole, with many mature trees, berms, sand traps and large undulating greens. Featuring a minimum of five tee boxes on every hole, you can make the course as hard or as easy as your ability allows.

BMX bike track

The town has its own BMX bike track maintained by local volunteers.^[7]

Camping

★ Okotoks Lions Sheep River Campground

★ Country Lane RV Park

★ Okotoks Wilderness Campgrounds

★ Riverbend Campground

Fishing

The Sheep River offers some excellent spots to catch fish.

References

1. Train Web. London Dayliner
2. 2005 Flood Town of Okotoks
3. Sustainable Okotoks
4. Mayor Bill McAlpine interviewed by Anna Maria Tremonti on the CBC Radio One radio show ''The Current'', January 9, 2007
5. Alberta Archives. Okotoks
6. Microsoft. Okotoks case study
7. Okotoks BMX

External links

★ Town of Okotoks - official website

★ Okotoks Community Portal