Eckville is a town in

central Alberta Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province. Agriculture and energy are important to the area's economy. Geography Central Alberta is bordered ...

, Canada. It is west of

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of we ...

on Highway 766 just north of Highway 11.

History

Eckville gets its name from A. E. T. Eckford, a pioneer citizen. Eckville relocated to its current location in 1912, after the

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. Man ...

completed its local line. The current location on the

was briefly known as Kootuk, but the name Eckville prevailed. Eckville was incorporated as a village in 1921 and became a town in 1966.

Geography

Climate

Eckville experiences a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Dfb'') which borders on a subarctic climate (''Dfc'').

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Eckville had a population of 1,014 living in 425 of its 472 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,125. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Eckville recorded a population of 1,125 living in 443 of its 465 total private dwellings, which represents no change from its 2011 population of 1,125. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Culture

Eckville is home to several festivals and events throughout the year: * Eckville Indoor Rodeo * Bull-arena * Eckville 50s & 60s Dance Jamboree * Canada Day celebrations * Eckville Winter Carnival * Tree-lighting Ceremony

Education

Eckville has two public schools, Eckville Junior/Senior High School and Eckville Elementary. The town is relatively close to Sylvan Lake and many students from Eckville attend schools there. Eckville is also a short drive from

Red Deer College , mottoeng = To Greater Things Through Learning , established = 1964 , type = Public polytechnic institute , president = Stuart Cullum , city = Red Deer , state = Alberta , country = Canada , students = 7,500 , undergrad = , campus = Ur ...

. Eckville Junior/Senior High School attracted national attention in 1984 when history teacher and vice-principal James Keegstra was charged under the

Criminal Code of Canada The ''Criminal Code'' (french: Code criminel)The citation of this Act by these short titles is authorised by thEnglishantexts of section 1. is a law that codifies most criminal offences and procedures in Canada. Its official long title is ''A ...

for teaching his students antisemitic material, including

Holocaust denial Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: ...

. Keegstra was stripped of his teaching credentials and convicted. His appeals eventually reached the Supreme Court of Canada in 1990, where his conviction was upheld in ''

R v Keegstra ''R v Keegstra'', 9903 SCR 697 is a freedom of expression decision of the Supreme Court of Canada where the court upheld the ''Criminal Code'' provision prohibiting the wilful promotion of hatred against an identifiable group as constitutional u ...

''. Keegstra was mayor of Eckville at the time, but was defeated in a subsequent election.

Notable people

Mellisa Hollingsworth Mellisa Hollingsworth (born October 4, 1980) is a retired Canadians, Canadian athlete who competed from 1995 to 2014. She won the bronze medal in the Skeleton at the 2006 Winter Olympics, women's skeleton event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turi ...

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

medalist in skeleton * James Keegstra, former mayor, convicted of hate speech in a landmark Canadian legal case

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1921 establishments in Alberta Towns in Alberta