Evansburg is a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

in west-

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 bordere ...

, Canada, within

Yellowhead County Yellowhead County is a municipal district in west central Alberta, Canada. It is the only municipal district within Alberta census division No. 14. History *1994: Established as a ''Municipal District of Yellowhead No. 94'' on January 1. ...

. It is located on Highway 16A, approximately west of

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

and east of Edson. The hamlet is adjacent to the

Pembina River Pembina River may refer to: *Pembina River (Alberta), a river in central Alberta, Canada *Pembina River (Manitoba – North Dakota) The Pembina River is a tributary of the Red River of the North, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. Nationa ...

and the

Pembina River Provincial Park Pembina River Provincial Park is a provincial park in central Alberta, Canada. It is located between the towns of Entwistle and Evansburg, a short distance from the Yellowhead Highway. The short 16A highway spur crosses the southern edge of th ...

. Evansburg was previously incorporated as a village until June 30, 1998, when it dissolved to become a hamlet within Yellowhead County.

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), 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 cultur ...

recognizes Evansburg as a

designated place A designated place (DPL) is a type of community or settlement identified by Statistics Canada that does not meet the criteria used to define municipalities or population centres. DPLs are delineated every 5 years for the Canadian census as the sta ...

History

Evansburg is named after

Harry Marshall Erskine Evans Henry Marshall Erskine Evans (August 17, 1876 – September 20, 1973) was a politician in Alberta, Canada, and a mayor of Edmonton. Biography Harry Evans was born on August 17, 1876, in Davenport, Ontario, now part of Toronto, the son of Rev. ...

, former

mayor and advisor to the

Government of Alberta The government of Alberta (french: gouvernement de l'Alberta) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Alberta. As a constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor—i ...

. The post office dates back to 1914.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

, Evansburg had a population of 717 living in 334 of its 371 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 795. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Evansburg had a population of 795 living in 370 of its 419 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 880. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Arts and culture

The Tipple Park Museum preserves and showcases Evansburg's railway, agricultural and coal mining history. The museum's symbol is a

tipple A tipple is a structure used at a mine to load the extracted product (e.g., coal, ores) for transport, typically into railroad hopper cars. In the United States, tipples have been frequently associated with coal mines, but they have also been use ...

, or a structure at a mine used to load ore or coal.

Home of the Grouch

Evansburg has gained a degree of fame across Canada for being the "Home of the Grouch." Every August, as part of the community's Pembina Valley Daze festival, the community chooses the "Town Grouch". The tradition began in 1961, when local artist John Lauer was commissioned to create a new

welcome sign A welcome sign (or gateway sign) is a road sign at the border of a jurisdiction or region that introduces or welcomes visitors to the city/county/state/province/prefecture/canton/region. Examples of welcome signs can be found near political border ...

for the community. To add some humour to the sign, he listed Evansburg's population as "603 people, 29 dogs, 41 cats, and one grouch." Speculation began as to who the grouch was. In 1979, the Evansburg

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

decided to settle the question by holding an election, in which the community's grouch was elected by the people. The election has been held annually ever since. Lauer himself was elected the grouch in 1995. In the 1990s, Evansburg decided to capitalize on this tradition by adopting the slogan "Home of the Grouch" and using a scowling

coal miner Coal mining is the process of resource extraction, extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its Energy value of coal, energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use c ...

(to also honour its coal mining heritage) as its logo. Far from being an honorary title, the Town Grouch has become a real position with real responsibilities. The chosen citizen becomes Evansburg's

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

, and represents the community at

trade shows A trade fair, also known as trade show, trade exhibition, or trade exposition, is an exhibition organized so that companies in a specific industry can showcase and demonstrate their latest products and services, meet with industry partners and cu ...

and conferences across Canada. Town Grouch is given a uniform consisting of

overalls Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

, a pick-axe, and a miner's helmet, all designed to mimic the community's logo. The Town Grouch's home also gets the honorary address of " 10 Frowning Street." In recent years, the election has been replaced with a competition to see who can raise the most money for Pembina Valley Daze.

Infrastructure

;Transportation As a flag stop

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

's ''

The Canadian ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' calls at the Evansburg railway station three times per week in each direction.

References