| Westlock, Alberta |
Article Index for Westlock |
Limousines in Westlock |
Website Links For Westlock |
Information AboutWestlock, Alberta |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT WESTLOCK, ALBERTA | |
| towns in alberta | |
| westlock county, alberta | |
| settlements established in 1902 | |
Westlock is a town in central Alberta located 85 km north-northwest of Edmonton at the junction of Highway 44 and Highway 18 . It is surrounded by Westlock County within Census Division 13 . Population: 65 (1916) 854 (1947) 4,820 (2005) HISTORY Prior to European settlement, the area around Westlock was inhabitaed by First Nations people, notably the Cree . Although the Fur Trade had been active in Alberta since 1754 when Anthony Henday explored the area, the Westlock district was not mentioned in writing until David Thompson came through in April, 1799 . White settlement did not begin until 1902 at that time centred around a Rural Community about 3 milies east of present-day Westlock called Edison by it's American founders after Thomas Edison the American inventor. The E.D. & B.C. Railway (later the Northern Alberta Railway , now part of CN ) chose to build its nearest siding 3 milies to the west in modern day Westlock, and that is where development shifted. The townsite was mapped in 1912 . Its name came from a combination of two men: William Westgate and William Lockhart who owned the property. Westlock became a village in 1916 the first mayor was Geo. MacTavish, that same year the first Grain Elevator was built, the first bank branch on the Sunday after Armistice , November 11th, 1918. A permenant brick shcoolhouse was built in 1925 . Westlock became a town in 1947 . Newspaper: Westlock News (originally Westlock Witness which began in 1919 ) Primary economy: agriculture Westlock's current MP is Brian Storseth and the MLA is Ken Kowalski . Notable Westlockians:
|
|
|