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Town of ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE & CLEARWATER COUNTY 'Where Adventure Begins' |
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Profiles:
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The townsite of Nordegg
in Clearwater
County was once a thriving community |
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The
Region |
Communities of the
Region |
News
| Events
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History
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Regional Map |
Published
by
Central Alberta Websites |
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Both
the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company established fur trading
posts in 1799 in the area, one called Rocky Mountain House and the other
Acton House, in order to facilitate trade with the First Nations people
of the western Rocky Mountains. The competitors merged in 1821 and the
name Rocky Mountain House remained. The posts were rebuilt a couple of
times and were used as the base for several explorers including David
Thompson. The last fort was closed in 1875. The community was firmly
established with the arrival of both the Canadian Northern Western
Railway and the Alberta Central Railway in 1912-14.
5116
- 50 Avenue, 
Now
a fledgling hamlet emerging from ghost town status, the townsite of
Nordegg, about 100 km west of the town of Rocky Mountain House and 100
km east of the Columbia Icefields, was a thriving community of up to
3,000 people for close to 40 years. Martin Nordegg, representing a
German development company, established the Brazeau Colleries and a coal
mining townsite around 1910. As a partner in the venture, the Canadian
Northern Railway built a rail line to the community by 1914. Nordegg
became one of the largest communities in Central Alberta until, in 1955,
the mines closed mostly as a result of the railways converting from
steam to diesel locomotives. Soon the townsite effectively became a
ghost town and stayed as such until recently when the hamlet of about
200 people became the gateway to mountain recreation and tourism and has
experienced some redevelopment. In addition, the Brazeau Colleries has
been restored and is now a national historic site.
Population
4340
- 47 Ave., 
