, known to locals as "the Hat," is a city of 56,048 (according to the 2005 municipal census) and is located in
Census Division #1 and
Cypress County in the southeastern part of the province of
Alberta ,
Canada . It is situated on the
Trans-Canada Highway Number 1 and on the
South Saskatchewan River . Nearby towns considered part of the Medicine Hat area include
Dunmore ,
Seven Persons ,
Redcliff , and
Irvine . Its major claim to fame is
Rudyard Kipling 's famous line "all hell for a basement" referring to the vast reserves of natural gas beneath it.
The landscape around Medicine Hat is flat to slightly rolling and is characterized by short-grass vegetation. The Cypress Hills (including Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park) is a relatively short distance (by car) to the southeast of the city. Medicine Hat has a dry, continental climate, with cold winters and warm summers. However, the winter cold is occasionally ameliorated by mild and dry chinook winds blowing from the west, and hot summer daytime temperatures are made tolerable by low humidity and rapid cooling in the evening hours. Medicine Hat receives less precipitation annually than other cities on the Canadian prairies.
The city is served by the
Medicine Hat Airport .
The name "Medicine Hat" is the English translation of 'Saamis' (SA-AH-UMP-SIN)- the Blackfoot word for the eagle tail feather headress worn by medicine men - or 'Medicine Hat'. This particular 'Medicine Hat' finds its origins from Aboriginal legends about a battle long ago between the
Blackfoot and the
Cree Indian tribes in which a retreating "Medicine Man" lost his headdress in the South Saskatchewan River.
Early residents considered changing the name to something more 'normal', but visiting writer
Rudyard Kipling convinced locals it would be truly unique and never imitated should they keep it.
Medicine Hat is also known as "The Gas City" due to its tremendous wealth of natural gas beneath it.
This inspired Kipling to say ''Medicine Hat was born lucky...You people in this district seem to have all Hell for a basement.''
This quote in turn inspired
Big Sugar 's hit single "All Hell for a Basement", a song about the lead singer's hometown.
Medicine Hat residents are often referred to as 'Hatters'
The Medicine Hat Clay Industries National Historic District is a living, working museum that offers a unique and extensive experience through collections, exhibits, interpretation, guided tours and educational and artistic programming. The Medalta Potteries and Hycroft China Factory Complexes are the focal points in this 150 acre region. This nationally recognized industrial historic district is a cultural initiative of the Friends of Medalta Society with Federal, Provincial, Municipal and Private support. Restoration, preservation and cultural development of the Medicine Hat Clay Industries National Historic District for the purpose of education and public enjoyment is ongoing. For more information, visit our website at
medalta.org .
Just south of the Trans-Canada Highway and overlooking the Blackfoot buffalo jump, is the world's tallest
Teepee , the "Saamis Teepee". Designed for the 1988
Winter Olympics in
Calgary as a symbol of Canada's Aboriginal heritage, it was moved to Medicine Hat in 1991. It stands over 20 stories high and was designed to withstand extreme temperatures and winds up to 240 km/h (150 mph).
- Police Point Park was an early North West Mounted Police outpost, and the park is now a nature-lovers' dream with shale paths next to the South Saskatchewan River.
- Strathcona Island Park
- Kin Coulee Park
- Echodale Park is a 650 acre (2.6 km&2) park that includes an artificial swimming lake and boating lake.
The first students were accepted to
Medicine Hat College in 1965. Now with over 2,500 students and 2 campuses, the college has grown into an integral part of the community.
Medicine Hat is home to
The South Alberta Light Horse (SALH), an army reserve unit. The SALH is one of Alberta's oldest and most prestigious army reserve units. The SALH dates back to 1885 when it took part in the
North-West Rebellion . Since then it has gained battle honours in the
First and
Second World Wars and today its members continue to serve overseas on
UN and
NATO missions. Currently the SALH has members serving in Afghanistan.
, and Defence R&D Canada -- Suffield (
DRDC ).
Medicine Hat has recently seen a number of divisive political issues.
A committee has been formed under the direction of City Council. The committee was supposed to report back to Council in the first half of 2005 to report on the feasibility of a new arena and potential locations. As of November 2005, it is unclear where the process is.
Medicine Hat has many
Radio and
Television Stations broadcasting from it, as well as recieving radio stations from nearby
Drumheller and
Calgary .
During the Second World War, Medicine Hat held one of the largest P.O.W. camps in Canada. On
June 26 ,
1946 , Sergeant Berner Swab was hanged for the murder of August Plazik, both men former P.O.W's.
On
December 18 , 1946, five P.O.W. men, Willy Mueller, Hienrich Bush, Bruno Parnisowski, and Walter Wolf were sentenced and hanged for the murder of Karl Lehmann. All the men were placed in unmarked graves they had dug themselves. Their remains were moved to
Kitchener , Ontario to a memorial grave. The RCMP investigated both cases and all of the accused were tried separately in Medicine Hat. The trials were held in civil rather than military courts, and the executions at Lethbridge Jail were also a civil responsibility.
{Link without Title}
