Town in Alberta, Canada
Didsbury
is a town in
central Alberta
,
Canada
at the
foothills
of the
Rocky Mountains
. It is located next to
Alberta Highway 2A
, near the
Queen Elizabeth II Highway
. Didsbury is within the
Calgary-Edmonton corridor
. Didsbury is approximately the half-way point between the cities of
Calgary
and
Red Deer
.
Didsbury is surrounded by
Mountain View County
, which has its
municipal office
located to the north of the town. The nearest neighbouring communities are the towns of
Olds
to the north and
Carstairs
to the south.
History
[
edit
]
Didsbury, circa 1905
Main Street in Didsbury
The town is named after the
township
of
Didsbury
, which is now a suburban area of
Manchester
, England.
[7]
The first settlers were German
Mennonites
who left their homes in
Pennsylvania
following the American Revolution and emigrated to Waterloo County in Ontario. They were granted the area around Didsbury in 1894 by the government of
Sir John A. Macdonald
.
[8]
Original settlement in the area was sparse, and this in part explains the initial slow development of the town-site as a service centre. The first concern of the Mennonite settlers was to build a
church
; and the primary task of the settlers was to create
farmsteads
. Settlement prior to the post-1900 land rush was limited to the small group who came west in 1894.
1897 saw the arrival of the
Canadian Pacific Railway
, 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
" 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 as of 2005.
On July 1, 2023, a large
EF4 tornado
caused severe damage just south of the town.
Demographics
[
edit
]
In the
2021 Census of Population
conducted by
Statistics Canada
, the Town of Didsbury had a population of 5,070 living in 2,047 of its 2,157 total private dwellings, a change of
-3.8% from its 2016 population of 5,268. With a land area of 16.12 km
2
(6.22 sq mi), it had a population density of
314.5/km
2
(814.6/sq mi) in 2021.
[3]
In the
2016 Census of Population
conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Didsbury recorded a population of 5,268 living in 2,031 of its 2,119 total private dwellings, a
6.3% change from its 2011 population of 4,957. With a land area of 16.37 km
2
(6.32 sq mi), it had a population density of
321.8/km
2
(833.5/sq mi) in 2016.
[9]
Infrastructure
[
edit
]
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 Police
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
, which is used primarily for small aircraft and
general aviation
, is located north of Didsbury along
Highway 2A
.
Media
[
edit
]
The town is served by the
Didsbury Review
, which is part of the
Great West Newspapers
chain.
[10]
Sport and recreation
[
edit
]
Didsbury is home to the
Mountainview Colts
of the
Heritage Junior B Hockey League
.
Organizations
[
edit
]
Organizations present in Didsbury include the
Royal Canadian Army Cadets
and the 1st Didsbury
Scouts
, Didsbury
Jazzercise
, as well as the
Elks
and
Lions
clubs.
[
citation needed
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Location and History Profile: Town of Didsbury"
(PDF)
.
Alberta Municipal Affairs
. October 7, 2016. p. 197
. Retrieved
October 11,
2016
.
- ^
"Municipal Officials Search"
.
Alberta Municipal Affairs
. 2019-05-09
. Retrieved
2021-10-01
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities)"
.
Statistics Canada
. February 9, 2022
. Retrieved
February 9,
2022
.
- ^
"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). Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on October 16, 2013
. Retrieved
October 8,
2013
.
- ^
"Population and dwelling counts: Canada and population centres"
.
Statistics Canada
. February 9, 2022
. Retrieved
February 13,
2022
.
- ^
"Mayor Rhonda Hunter Biography"
(PDF)
.
Town of Didsbury
.
- ^
"Didsbury History"
. Archived from
the original
on 2006-05-29
. Retrieved
2006-06-22
.
- ^
Kinette Club of Didsbury (1969).
Echoes of an Era
. Didsbury, Alberta: Didsbury Booster.
- ^
"Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses ? 100% data (Alberta)"
.
Statistics Canada
. February 8, 2017
. Retrieved
February 8,
2017
.
- ^
Didsbury Review Newspaper site
External links
[
edit
]
Places adjacent to Didsbury, Alberta
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