Didsbury, Alberta

Didsbury
—  Town  —
Town of Didsbury
Didsbury railway station
Logo
Didsbury Location of Didsbury in Alberta
Coordinates: 51°39′57″N 114°07′52″W / 51.66583°N 114.13111°W / 51.66583; -114.13111Coordinates: 51°39′57″N 114°07′52″W / 51.66583°N 114.13111°W / 51.66583; -114.13111
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Central Alberta
Census division	6
County	Mountain View
Settled	1894
Incorporated	1905 Village
	1906 Town
Government[1]
- Mayor	Brian Wittal
- Governing body	Didsbury Town Council
- MP	Blake Richards
- MLA	Richard Marz
Area[2]
- Total	5.47 km2 (2.1 sq mi)
Elevation	1,030 m (3,379 ft)
Population (2006)[3]
- Total	4,275
- Density	782/km2 (2,025.4/sq mi)
Time zone	MST (UTC−7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC−6)
Postal code span	T0M
Highways	Highway 2A Highway 582
Waterway	Rosebud River
Website	Town of Didsbury

Didsbury is a town in central Alberta, Canada, at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.

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.

The town is the county seat of the rural Mountain View County. The nearest neighboring communities are the towns of Olds and Carstairs.

History

The town is named after the township of Didsbury, now a suburban area of Manchester, England.^[4] The first settlers were Dutch Mennonites who left their homes in Pennsylvania and emigrated as United Empire Loyalists to Waterloo County, Ontario. They were granted the area around Didsbury in 1894 by the government of Sir John A. MacDonald.

Main Street in Didsbury

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 today.

Demographics

The population of the Town of Didsbury according to its 2008 municipal census is 4,599.^[5]

In 2006, Didsbury had a population of 4,275 living in 1,726 dwellings, a 8.7% increase from 2001. The town has a land area of 5.47 km² (2.11 sq mi) and a population density of 782.0 /km² (2,025 /sq mi).^[3]

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 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.

Organizations

Organizations present in Didsbury include the Royal Canadian Army Cadets and the 1st Didsbury Scouts, as well as the Elks and Lions clubs.^{[citation needed]}

Media

The town is served by the Didsbury Review newspaper, which is part of the Great West Newspapers chain.^[6]

See also

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

References

1. ^ Town of Didsbury. "Town Council". Archived from the original on 2007-06-08. http://web.archive.org/web/20070608203012/http://www.didsbury.ca/council.html. Retrieved 2007-06-22. 
2. ^ Town of Didsbury. Demographics
3. ^ ^{a b} Statistics Canada (Census 2006). "Didsbury - Community Profile". http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=4806032&Geo2=PR&Code2=48&Data=Count&SearchText=Didsbury&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=&GeoCode=4806032. Retrieved 2007-06-11. 
4. ^ Didsbury History
5. ^ Alberta Municipal Affairs (2009-09-15). "Alberta 2009 Official Population List". http://municipalaffairs.gov.ab.ca/documents/LGS/2009pop.pdf. Retrieved 2010-09-14. 
6. ^ Didsbury Review Newspaper site

External links

• Town of Didsbury Alberta
• Didsbury & District Chamber of Commerce