Rocky Mountain House is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in west-central Alberta, Canada. It is approximately 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 ...

at the confluence of the Clearwater and

North Saskatchewan River The North Saskatchewan River is a glacier-fed river that flows from the Canadian Rockies continental divide east to central Saskatchewan, where it joins with the South Saskatchewan River to make up the Saskatchewan River. Its water flows event ...

s, and at the crossroads of Highway 22 (Cowboy Trail) and Highway 11 (David Thompson Highway). The surrounding Clearwater County's administration office is located in Rocky Mountain House.

History

The town has a long history dating to the 18th century with the presence of British and Canadian fur traders during the westward Canadian expansion. In 1799, the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...

and the North West Company each established the Rocky Mountain House and Acton House

fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...

posts. Trade with the local aboriginal peoples continued until 1821 when the companies merged, they continued to trade until 1875 and closed the Rocky Mountain House post. The name of the settlement however remained. The Rocky Mountain House settlement also served as a launching point for many explorers such as David Thompson, in search for a passage west to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

. Many travellers used this location as a stop on their way further west or northwest, just as they do into the 21st century. The next wave of adventurers entered the region at the beginning of the 20th century in search of opportunities presented by lush farmland and the abundance of natural resources. Rocky Mountain House became a firmly established town by 1912. Settlers of Scandinavian origin made up a significant part of early 20th century settlement in the region. The town was hit by a magnitude 5.0 earthquake on October 20, 2021, just after 9:20pm MDT. It was the second-strongest earthquake in the province's history.

Fur trade

Rocky Mountain House and Acton House were a pair of fur trade posts from 1799 to 1876. Rocky Mountain House belonged to the North West Company (NWC) and Acton House to the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). When the two companies merged in 1821, the name Rocky Mountain House was retained. The posts were opened and closed seven times. Rocky Mountain House was the westernmost post on the North Saskatchewan and was within sight of the Rocky Mountains. The fort facilitated trade with the

Blackfeet The Blackfeet Nation ( bla, Aamsskáápipikani, script=Latn, ), officially named the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation of Montana, is a federally recognized tribe of Siksikaitsitapi people with an Indian reservation in Mon ...

and Piegans as well as the Kootenays across the mountains. The Kootenays were prevented from reaching Fort Edmonton by the Blackfeet and Piegans who wanted to profit as middlemen and keep them from getting guns. The fort also served as a base for finding a pass across the Rocky Mountains. The post also produced

pemmican Pemmican (also pemican in older sources) is a mixture of tallow, dried meat, and sometimes dried berries. A calorie-rich food, it can be used as a key component in prepared meals or eaten raw. Historically, it was an important part of indigenou ...

and

York boats The York boat was a type of inland boat used by the Hudson's Bay Company to carry furs and trade goods along inland waterways in Rupert's Land, the watershed stretching from Hudson Bay to the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. It was named af ...

. The posts were built at the confluence of the Clearwater River and the North Saskatchewan River. They were on the north bank just above the Clearwater and strongly built for protection from the Blackfeet. During low water there were rapids near the post. Around 1980, only two stone chimneys were standing. An interpretive centre was subsequently developed at this location. ;Timeline *1790: Peter Pangman of the North West Company marked the site for the future company fort. *1799–1802: In September 1799, a group of Nor'Westers (North West Company employees) under John McDonald of Garth travelled upstream of Fort Augustus by canoe and horseback and established Rocky Mountain House. James Bird of the HBC followed and built Acton House. David Thompson and Duncan McGillivray of the NWC were wintering partners at their House. The Kootenays did not cross the mountains in significant numbers and attempts to find a pass failed. Therefore, both posts were closed in 1802. *1805–1807: The two posts were reopened without much success. In 1807, David Thompson of the NWC went up the North Saskatchewan, found Howse Pass and built Kootenay House on the Columbia River. The new post made Rocky Mountain House unnecessary and the posts were closed again in 1807. *1810–1812: Reopened in 1810, Alexander Henry 'The Younger' of the NWC found that the route over the mountains was blockaded by the Piegans. He and David Thompson set out overland north to the

Athabasca River The Athabasca River (French: ''Rivière Athabasca'') is a river in Alberta, Canada, which originates at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park and flows more than before emptying into Lake Athabasca. Much of the land along its banks is ...

. After ascending it for five days, they abandoned their horses for snowshoes to cross

Athabasca Pass Athabasca Pass (el. ) is a high mountain pass in the Canadian Rockies on the border between Alberta and British Columbia. In fur trade days it connected Jasper House on the Athabasca River with Boat Encampment on the Columbia River.Whittaker, Jo ...

for the first time and reached the Columbia River at Boat Encampment. Athabasca Pass was clearly superior and attempts to reach the Columbia shifted north. In 1811, a group of

Gros Ventres The Gros Ventre ( , ; meaning "big belly"), also known as the Aaniiih, A'aninin, Haaninin, Atsina, and White Clay, are a historically Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe located in north central Montana. Today the Gros Ventre people are ...

planned to attack the fort but were threatened away by the Piegans who preferred to trade at Rocky Mountain House rather than at Fort Edmonton near their Cree enemies. The two posts were then closed to consolidate trade at Fort Edmonton. *1819–1823: Attempts to get the Blackfeet to trade at Fort Edmonton failed so the forts were reopened. With John Rowland in charge for the NWC, the two companies were merged in 1821 and the combined fort was called Rocky Mountain House. In 1823, George Simpson decided to close the post since there were few beaver and the post was losing money. *1825–1832: The post was reopened at Piegan request, and it prospered due to a new source of beaver. In the winter of 1830–31, a group of Piegans were attacked by the

Crows The Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) is a series of remote weapon stations used by the US military on its armored vehicles and ships. It allows weapon operators to engage targets without leaving the protection of their vehicle. ...

, who killed 57 Piegans and stole all their furs. After this disaster and the opening of a closer American post, the Piegans stopped trading and the post was closed again in 1832. *1835–1861: A new post was built to the south somewhere on the

Bow River The Bow River is a river in Alberta, Canada. It begins within the Canadian Rocky Mountains and winds through the Alberta foothills onto the prairies, where it meets the Oldman River, the two then forming the South Saskatchewan River. These w ...

in the Piegan country, which failed after two years. In 1835, J. E. Harriott built a new post down the river but in sight of the old post, where it remained as a wintering post for 26 years. The Piegan trade having been lost to the Americans, the HBC tried to concentrate the Blackfoot trade at Rocky Mountain House away from their enemies at Fort Edmonton. With the escalating violence on the frontier, the HBC decided to stop the liquor trade. In retaliation, the Blackfeet refused to trade and prevented buffalo hunters from leaving the fort. With starvation a real possibility, no one was sent upriver in the fall of 1861 to trade. Finding the fort empty, the Blackfeet burnt it to the ground. *1864–1876: Gold was discovered in Montana and the American traders shifted their attention from Indians to prospectors. The HBC reasoned that this made a new opportunity for the Indian trade and a new Rocky Mountain House was built next to the ruins of the old one. The trade did not prosper because the Blackfeet preferred the Americans' whiskey which they got from places like

Fort Whoop-up Fort Whoop-Up was the nickname (eventually adopted as the official name) given to a whisky trading post, originally Fort Hamilton, near what is now Lethbridge, Alberta. During the late 19th century, the post served as a centre for trading activ ...

. Arriving in 1874, the North-West Mounted Police drove out the American whiskey traders, and the HBC built a new post somewhere to the south making Rocky Mountain House redundant. It was closed permanently in 1876.

Geography

The North Saskatchewan River borders Rocky Mountain House to the west where the Clearwater River flows into the North Saskatchewan River. Crimson Lake is a lake approximately northwest of town. Crimson Lake is home to Crimson Lake Provincial Park.

Climate

Rocky Mountain House has a subarctic climate (

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 ...

Dfc) that borders on 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 Dfb). Daytime temperatures are in general representative for the latter, but the larger

diurnal temperature variation In meteorology, diurnal temperature variation is the variation between a high air temperature and a low temperature that occurs during the same day. Temperature lag Temperature lag is an important factor in diurnal temperature variation: peak da ...

with the high elevation ensures frequent frosts. The January average high of around is actually much milder than clear continental areas further east in Canada on similar and lower parallels. The highest temperature ever recorded in Rocky Mountain House was on 23 July 1928.Environment Canada - Canadian Climate Data�
Daily Data Report for July 1928
accessed 19 September 2016 The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 12 February 1936.Environment Canada - Canadian Climate Data�

accessed 19 September 2016

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 Rocky Mountain House had a population of 6,765 living in 2,693 of its 3,075 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 6,635. 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 Rocky Mountain House recorded a population of 6,635 living in 2,599 of its 2,954 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 6,933. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016. The Town of Rocky Mountain House's 2012 municipal census counted a population of 7,300, a 1.0% increase over its 2007 municipal census population of 7,231.

Economy

The economy of the Rocky Mountain House area is driven by

petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

. Tourism also plays a role in its economy due to its location at the crossroads of Highway 22 and Highway 11, and its location midway between Red Deer and the scenic

Alberta's Rockies Alberta's Rockies comprise the Canadian Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada. On the southwestern part of the province along the British Columbia border, the region covers all but the south of Census Division 15. The main industry in this region ...

region.

Transportation

On the road, Rocky Mountain House is served by Highway 22 and Highway 11. In the air, Rocky Mountain House is served by its airport.

Sports

The Recreation, Parks & Community Services Department hosts five annual sports tournaments. They include two slo-pitch, a sno-pitch, a volleyball and a hockey/slo-pitch combined tournament.

Government

Rocky Mountain House's town council consists of Mayor Debbie Baich and councillors Dave Auld, Marley Capraro, Shane Boniface, Len Phillips, and Tina Hutchinson . Rocky Mountain House is located within the Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre provincial electoral district, which is represented by Jason Nixon of the United Conservative Party.

Twin town

Rocky Mountain House is twinned with Kamikawa, Hokkaido, Japan.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1913 establishments in Alberta Forts or trading posts on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Fur trade National Historic Sites of Canada Hudson's Bay Company trading posts National Historic Sites in Alberta North West Company forts Populated places on the North Saskatchewan River Towns in Alberta