Milk River, Alberta

For other uses, see Milk River (disambiguation).

Milk River
—  Town  —
Town of Milk River
Motto: Under Eight Flags
Location of Milk River in Alberta
Coordinates: 49°08′56″N 112°05′14″W / 49.14889°N 112.08722°W / 49.14889; -112.08722Coordinates: 49°08′56″N 112°05′14″W / 49.14889°N 112.08722°W / 49.14889; -112.08722
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Southern Alberta
Census division	2
County	Warner
Incorporated	31 July 1916 (village)
	March 15, 1956 (town)
Government
- Mayor	Terry Michaelis
- Governing body	Milk River Town Council
- MLA
Area
- Total	2.39 km2 (0.9 sq mi)
Elevation	1,050 m (3,445 ft)
Population (2006)[1]
- Total	816
- Density	341.7/km2 (885/sq mi)
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
Postal code span	T0K 1M0
Highways	Highway 4 Highway 501
Waterway	Milk River
Website	Town of Milk River

Milk River is a town in the province of Alberta, Canada, located on and named after the Milk River, which flows immediately to its south. It is 70 kilometres (43 mi) south of Lethbridge, and 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from the Canada-U.S. border. It is primarily a service centre for the many farms and cattle ranches which surround it.

History

The Milk River area was first settled around the beginning of the 20th century. Milk River was incorporated as a village on 1916 July, and on 1956 March, it was declared a town.

Its motto, "Under Eight Flags", refers to the area having been under the flags of seven governments and the Hudson's Bay Company. Including HBC (1818–1869), the eight flags are France (1682–1762), the Spanish Empire (1762–1800), the French Republic (1800–1803), the United States (1803–1818), the British Empire (1869–1945), the Canadian Red Ensign (1945–1965), and the current Canadian Maple Leaf (1965–present).

Demographics

The population of the Town of Milk River according to its 2007 municipal census is 846.^[2]

In 2006, Milk River had a population of 816 living in 443 dwellings, a 7.2% decrease from 2001. The town has a land area of 2.39 km² (0.92 sq mi) and a population density of 341.7 /km² (885 /sq mi).^[1]

Government

The town is governed by a town council composed of a mayor and four councillors. Municipal elections are held every three years.

Infrastructure

Milk River has five Christian churches and two schools, Milk River Elementary School and Erle Rivers High School. It also offers its residents a nine-hole golf course, a curling rink, a swimming pool, and a skateboard park.

Health services are provided by the Milk River and District Health Centre.

The town is connected to two highways: Highway 4, which heads south to Interstate 15 and north to Lethbridge, and Highway 501, which heads west to Cardston and east to Saskatchewan. Air service is provided by Milk River Airport and rail service is offered through CPR.

Tourism

Regional attractions

Devil's Coulee Dinosaur Heritage Museum

The Devil's Coulee Dinosaur Heritage Museum^[3] features a Hadrosaur (duck-billed dinosaur) nest and embryo, ancient fossils, dinosaur models, located in the Warner.

Galt Historic Railway Park

The Galt Historic Railway Park located 1 km north of Stirling is another popular museum which displays of life and travel in the 1880s to 1920s are set up in the restored 1890 North West Territories International Train Station from Coutts, Alberta, Canada and Sweetgrass, Montana, USA. The station was moved to the current location near Stirling in 2000 and is added onto every year. Future plans to move the 1925 Oglvie grain elevator from Wrentham for display along the station in the 36-acre (150,000 m²) park is still in the planning stages.

Stirling Agricultural Village

See also: List of attractions and landmarks in Stirling, Alberta and Stirling Agricultural Village

Stirling Agricultural Village is a National Historic Site of Canada, and was listed as one of only three communities in Canada designated as a National Historic Site because of the community’s well preserved settlement pattern that follows the Plat of Zion model.^[4] Located within the village are two museums the Michelsen Farmstead a totally restored 1900s home showcasing rual life in Alberta in the 1930s. Listed as a Provincial Historic Site in 2001.,^[5] and the Galt Historic Railway Park.

Warner elevator row

The Warner elevator row is a row of historic wood-cribed grain elevators. A total of six elevators still stand in a row from south to north alongside the Canadian Pacific Railway on the east entrance of the village of Warner. Due to the loss of a vast amount of Alberta's many grain elevators, the elevator row in Warner remains the very last row of elevators in Alberta. Only two elevator rows remain in Canada, Warner's row and the elevators in Inglis, Manitoba.

Waterton Lakes National Park

Waterton Lakes National Park is a National Park located in the extreme southwest corner of Alberta, Canada, 40 km west of Cardston, and borders Glacier National Park in Montana, USA. Waterton Lakes was Canada's fourth National Park formed in 1895. The Rocky Mountains rise suddenly out of the rolling prairies in the park. Amid the peaks are the three Waterton Lakes, carved out of the rock by ancient glaciers.

Writing On Stone Provincial Park

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, is one of the largest areas of protected prairie in the Alberta park system, and serves as both a nature preserve and protection for the largest concentration of rock art, created by Plains People. There are over 50 rock art sites, with thousands of figures, as well as numerous archeological sites.

Media

Historical Newspapers

• Milk River Review -- The Milk River Review was a published weekly newspaper between November 11, 1948 and May 27, 1954. It continued as a weekly throughout its run as The Review from June 17, 1954 to August 21, 1958, and again under the title of County of Warner Review and Advertiser between September 1, 1958 and March 30, 1961. Finally, the weekly newspaper returned to its original name, running as the Milk River Review from June 1, 1961 through to November 16, 1961.

The Milk River Review (1948-1958 & 1961) has been digitized from microfilm and is available through the University of Lethbridge Library digitized collections.

See also

• List of communities in Alberta
• List of towns in Alberta

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Statistics Canada (Census 2006). "Milk River - Community Profile". Archived from the original on 2011-02-12. http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=4802004&Geo2=PR&Code2=48&Data=Count&SearchText=Milk%20River&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=&GeoCode=4802004. Retrieved 2007-06-12. 
2. ^ Alberta Municipal Affairs (2009-09-15). "Alberta 2009 Official Population List". http://municipalaffairs.gov.ab.ca/documents/LGS/2009pop.pdf. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
3. ^ Village of Warner. "Devil's Coulee Dinosaur Heritage Museum". Archived from the original on 2007-07-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20070729024805/http://www.devilscoulee.com/Main.html. Retrieved 2007-08-02. 
4. ^ Parks Canada (June 2007). "Village of Stirling National Historic Site". Archived from the original on 2011-02-12. http://www.pc.gc.ca/docs/r/ab/sites/stirling_e.asp. Retrieved 2007-11-13. 
5. ^ Village of Stirling. "Michelsen Farmstead". Archived from the original on 2011-02-12. http://www.villageofstirling.com/Visit/Michelsen.htm. Retrieved 2007-11-13. 

External links

• Town of Milk River
• Milk River Review (1948-1958 & 1961) -- Newspaper