Stony Plain is a town in the

Edmonton Metropolitan Region The Edmonton Metropolitan Region (EMR), also commonly referred to as Greater Edmonton or Metro Edmonton, is a conglomeration of municipalities centred on Edmonton, the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. While the EMR is not a strictly ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada that is surrounded by

Parkland County Parkland County is a municipal district in central Alberta, Canada. Located west of Edmonton in Census Division No. 11, its municipal office, Parkland County Centre, is located north of the Town of Stony Plain on Highway 779. History ;20 ...

. It is west of

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

adjacent to the City of

Spruce Grove Spruce Grove is a city that is west of Edmonton, Alberta, in Canada. The city is adjacent to the Stony Plain, Alberta, Town of Stony Plain and is surrounded by Parkland County. With a 2021 population of 37,645, Spruce Grove is the List of cit ...

and sits on

Treaty 6 Treaty 6 is the sixth of the numbered treaties that were signed by the Canadian Crown and various First Nations between 1871 and 1877. It is one of a total of 11 numbered treaties signed between the Canadian Crown and First Nations. Specifi ...

land. Stony Plain is known for its many painted murals representing various periods, events and people throughout the town's history. The town was originally known as Dog Rump Creek.

History

The name of the town is believed to have come from one of two possible origins. The first is that the

Stoney people The Nakoda (also known as Stoney, , or Stoney Nakoda) are an Indigenous people in Western Canada and the United States. Their territory used to be large parts of what is now Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Montana, but their reserves are now in Al ...

camped in the area historically. The second possibility is that Dr. James Hector, a

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

on the Palliser expedition, noticed

boulders In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

scattered across the area. The official name for the settlement was adopted in 1892. Alex McNabb and McPherson were the first homesteaders in the area. File:Stony Plain, Alberta (1910).jpg, Train station, 1910 File:Welcome to Stony Plain, Alberta (circa 1912).jpg, Circa 1912 File:Stony Plain, Alberta (circa 1912).jpg, Circa 1912 File:Stony Plain, Alberta (circa 1925).jpg, Circa 1935

Geography

Climate

Stony Plain has 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 cold ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

'' Dfb'') It falls into the NRC

Plant Hardiness Zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

4a.

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 Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, the Town of Stony Plain had a population of 17,993 living in 7,134 of its 7,475 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 17,189. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population of the Town of Stony Plain, according to its 2019 municipal census, is 17,842, a change of from its 2015 municipal census population of 16,127. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Stony Plain recorded a population of 17,189 living in 6,641 of its 6,954 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 15,051. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Arts and culture

Stony Plain is home to many colourful

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s that depict important figures and events of local history. The Town held a mural project in 2006 where artists were selected through open competition to paint two murals. The Parkland Potters Guild & Crooked Pot Gallery is also located within Stony Plain. Cultural institutions in the town include the Stony Plain Public Library, the Multicultural Heritage Centre, and the Stony Plain Pioneer Museum. Stony Plain celebrates Farmers' Days in the first week of June each year, complete with the Farmers' Days Parade, the Kinsmen rodeo, a pancake breakfast and fair grounds. The town also plays host to the Great White North Triathlon in the first week of July. In the summer, Stony Plain hosts two major festivals: the Blueberry Bluegrass and Country Music Festival, which is held in early August and is the largest bluegrass event in western Canada, and the Cowboy Poetry and Country Music Gathering held in late August. In December, the town sets up a large Christmas tree on Main Street and is lit throughout the Christmas season. To celebrate New Year's Eve, the town holds its Family Fest event at Heritage Park. Family Fest features outdoor ice skating, hot chocolate and fireworks.

Attractions

The Town of Stony Plain jointly owns and operates the TransAlta Tri Leisure Centre sports complex located within neighbouring Spruce Grove. The town is also home to the Multicultural Heritage Centre, the Pioneer Museum, and multiple parks including Shikaoi and Rotary, a skate park, a BMX park and a green path system running through town.

Government

The town is governed by one mayor and six councillors.

Infrastructure

;Health care Stony Plain is home to the WestView Health Centre, a 68-bed public hospital.

Education

Parkland School Division operates five schools and an outreach centre within the town. Evergreen Catholic Separate Regional Division No. 2 operates a school for students in kindergarten through grade 8. There are also a variety of small private schools and home schooling organizations.

Sports

The Stony Plain Eagles of Allan Cup Hockey West play out of Glenn Hall Arena.

Media

Newspapers covering Stony Plain include the ''Stony Plain Reporter'' and the ''Tri Area News''. On the radio 88.1 The One'

Notable people

* Brett Kulak – ice hockey player for the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

* Cornelia Lucinda Railey Wood - politician, Social Credit MLA (1959–1967) and former mayor of Stony Plain

Sister town

Stony Plain is twinned with Shikaoi,

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1907 establishments in Alberta Edmonton Metropolitan Region Towns in Alberta