When was okotoks founded

According to family history provided to the Okotoks Museum and Archives by his descendants, he once walked from Okotoks to Golden, B. McRae was no stranger to long journeys. As a child, he travelled with his family from their home in Ashfield, Ont.

The family stayed in St. Cloud, Minn. In , the family had proceeded to Woodside, where McRae would live for another nine years before heading further west. According to the family history, he died in from a tumour in his stomach. By that time, Okotoks had been incorporated and was a bustling little town, said Coutts.

In it was custom to welcome newlyweds at the train station with the Okotoks Band. The fire burned the second floor balcony off the General Store across the street. Okotoks bid an era good-bye when the last passenger train stopped in Okotoks in After closing in , "The Station" was purchased by the Town in , and was re-opened in as the cultural and tourist information centre. It was renamed the Okotoks Art Gallery in For almost a century, the brick church on the corner of Elma Street and Centre Avenue served as a gathering place for the Okotoks community - a place to worship, gain inspiration and where music and praise filled the rafters.

Although no longer a church, the facility continues to be a gathering place for celebration and inspiration in its new role as the Rotary Performing Arts Centre. It became the Okotoks United Church in when the Methodist and Presbyterian congregations joined together. As the town grew, so did the congregation and in , members of the Okotoks United Church had outgrown their space and they made the difficult decision to put their beloved church up for sale.

The Okotoks Arts Council embarked upon an ambitious goal to purchase the church. Their goal was to preserve a much-loved historic building and also to provide a needed facility for the performing arts.

After hundreds of hours of fund-raising and renovations, the arts council donated it to the Town of Okotoks. It was officially opened in April, The facility re-opened to the public in November, and since then has welcomed local, national and international performers to its stage. Our Historic Past. Historic Past, Sustainable Future. First Nations. Early Settlers. A Name Change. A Community Takes Root. Trails, Trains and Trade. The Macleod Trail.

The Canadian Pacific Railway. Lineham Lumber Company. Lineham Lumber Company Interpretive Site An interpretive site is located south of the library on the north side of the river, which was the original location of the Lineham Lumber Company's sawmill. On the Lighter Side. Early Memories. Okotoks Firsts. Essential Services.

Fun Facts. The last bison in the Okotoks area was killed in , one mile north of Okotoks. A flood in covered the main street with water. In , flat cars of rock were brought by train from Frank Slide in the Crowsnest Pass and placed on the north side of the river one mile west of town to prevent further flooding in town.

From initial settlement to the s, women were expected to quit work once they were married. In the early s, a staple food was "sow bosom" - a salty fat pork stacked in stores like cordwood.

Oats grown in Okotoks took the highest award at the Paris Exposition in Before the invention of fridges, local people used to cut ice from ponds created by the Sheep River, and haul them to their storage house. The blocks would be packed with sawdust and would last through the next summer.

In it was custom at the time to welcome newlyweds at the town train station with the Okotoks Band. Wooden sidewalks and hitching posts were removed in the late s. Needless to say, Okotoks became a popular drinking spot for Calgarians. Train passenger service to Okotoks was discontinued in , ending 80 years of passenger service. Senator Bobby Kennedy visited the St. James Roman Catholic Church in the s. The Big Rock. The Blackfoot Legend of the Big Rock.

Scientific Explanation. If Walls Could Talk. Three historic buildings take on new roles as Okotoks Culture and Heritage facilities. Okotoks Museum and Archives.

Okotoks Art Gallery. Rotary Performing Arts Centre. The routing of the Canadian Pacific Railway through Calgary made Okotoks a resting point on overland connecting trails from the south. In , with the completion of the railway to Fort Macleod, Okotoks boomed as a transportation , ranching and sawmilling centre. The discovery of the Turney Valley oil field west of the town in spurred further growth.

In the s and s, Okotoks became a commuter suburb of Calgary. Search The Canadian Encyclopedia. Remember me. I forgot my password. Why sign up?