Stirling is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017.County of Warner No. 5 The County of Warner No. 5 is a List of municipal districts in Alberta, municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada. Located in Division No. 2, Alberta, Census Division No. 2 just north of the United States border, its List of municipal dist ...

. The village is located on Highway 4, approximately southeast of Lethbridge and northwest of the Canada–US border. The Village of Stirling is also referred to as

Stirling Agricultural Village Stirling Agricultural Village was designated as a National Historic Site of Canada on June 22, 1989. The site was designated as a national historical site of Canada because it is the best surviving example of a Mormon agricultural village. The ...

due to its designation as a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

History

As the development of Railway took place throughout the 1880s in

Southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017.Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) constructed a railroad from the city of Calgary to

Fort Macleod Fort Macleod ( ) is a town in southern Alberta, Canada. It was originally named Macleod to distinguish it from the North-West Mounted Police barracks (Fort Macleod, built 1874) it had grown around. The fort was named in honour of the then Commis ...

. The Alberta Railway and Coal Company (ARCC) built a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

railway from Lethbridge to

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff to the northwest are with ...

in order to supply coal to the CPR. In 1899, the ARCC built another narrow gauge railway from Lethbridge, Alberta to Great Falls, Montana through the

Coutts Coutts & Co. is a London-headquartered private bank and wealth manager. Founded in 1692, it is the eighth oldest bank in the world. Today, Coutts forms part of NatWest Group's wealth management division. In the Channel Islands and the Isle of ...

- Sweetgrass border crossing, closely following the route of the old

Whoop-up Trail The Whoop-Up Trail, also known as the Macleod-Benton Trail was a wagon road that connected Fort Benton, Montana, to Fort Hamilton, Alberta. The trail was initially a trade route between Montana and the southern region of Alberta, which was then kn ...

. Originally this railway was not built to promote colonization, but to open additional markets for Galt Coal in Montana. There was a limited amount of ranching along the route and no agricultural settlement. The ARCC opened the line to advertise land in parcels of 80-6401 acres for stock. The first station along the line south of Lethbridge was located near what was then known as "18 Mile Lake" (18 miles from Lethbridge), for locomotives to replenish water for their engines. This station siding was named after J. A. Stirling, an executive in a company in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

that helped finance the ARCC. At that time, there were no people or buildings in the region, with the exception of station employees who lived in the section houses along the railway. Alberta Railway & Coal Company owned millions of acres of semiarid dry-land throughout Southern Alberta. This land was only suitable for ranching, not many new settlers saw potential in the dry landscape. Alberta Railway and Coal Company liked how

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) was implementing irrigation in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah and nearby

Cardston, Alberta Cardston is a town in Alberta, Canada. It was first settled in 1887 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who travelled from Utah, via the Macleod-Benton Trail, to present-day Alberta in one of the century ...

. In 1899, it was decided to call upon the LDS Church to help colonize the area. As part of the agreement, the LDS church and the Alberta Railway & Irrigation Company (''Successor to Alberta Railway & Coal Co.'') was to build an irrigation canal as well, establish two communities, within the year end of 1899. The Community of Stirling and Magrath. Upon completion of the St. Mary's Irrigation Canal, the Church was granted thousands of acres of land, which was given as payment to its missionaries, who worked on building the canal. With the arrival of

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been devel ...

on November 14, 1899, the Village of Stirling quickly developed adjacent to the ARCC and station house. Today, the St. Mary's Main Canal is 312 km long and continues to be a vital source of irrigated water for much of Southern Alberta.

National Historic Site status

On May 5, 1899, a small band of 30

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

settlers led by Theodore Brandley of

Richfield, Utah Richfield is a city in and the county seat of Sevier County, Utah, United States, and is the largest city in southern-central Utah. Description As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,551. It lies in the Mormon Corridor, just off I ...

, arrived at Stirling station, they were greeted by

Charles Ora Card __NOTOC__ Charles Ora Card (November 5, 1839 – September 9, 1906) was the American founder of Cardston, Alberta, the first Mormon settlement in Canada. He has been referred to as "Canada's Brigham Young". Richard E. Bennett"Canada: From Strugglin ...

of Cardston. The day after his arrival, Brandley with the help of Card inspected and planned out the new town site of Stirling. Like many Mormon settlements, Stirling was designed following

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, ...

's " Plat of Zion". The village, originally made up of 47 blocks and 1 "Reserved" block, within one square mile . Each block was divided into with 8, lots, each measuring, by . A surveyed street, 100 ft wide with irrigation canal, surrounded each block. Stirling is unique, as each block has a 20 ft wide lane or alleyway separating the blocks, giving each residence access to a back alleyway. Also unique to Stirling is its Town Square, located at the northeast corner of the village. Originally made up of 4 "half blocks"; blocks, 1, 2, 4, 15, 17,1 8, were divided into 44, by commercial lots with alleyway between. Blocks 3 and 16 were divided into 25, by commercial lots with a by block south of block 3 and north of block 16. This block was reserved (R) for a town park or civic buildings. The reasoning for locating the town square in the corner of the village, was because at that time this location was nearest to the original Alberta Railway & Coal Co. station. Whereas, Joseph Smith's ideal Plat of Zion, planned for the town's square or business center and civic buildings to be located at the centre of the settlement, surrounded by large residential lots, giving residents enough room for a house, barn and shelters for animals. Irrigation water was accessed at the canal running along each street, giving residence the opportunity to grow and water a large garden and raise livestock. For this reason, Stirling was known as the "Village of Gardens". These canals were used up until 1968 when the village of Stirling

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

installed fresh drinking water and sewer lines to each property. Of the 47 blocks, Stirling was laid out with 32 blocks divided into 8, residential lots with an alleyway separating lots 1-4 & 5–8. 13 of the 47 blocks, bordering the western and southern borders of the village, were used by residents for agriculture purposes and never divided. Although many original Mormon Settlements throughout Southern Alberta were planned using the Plat of Zion, Stirling presently is known to be the best preserved Mormon Settlement in Canada, still following the Plat of Zion. As so, the village of Stirling has been recognized as a

for being the best-preserved example of this layout in Canada, and designated as such on June 22, 1989. Stirling is one of only two communities that owed its existence to a partnership between

and Charles A. Magrath of the Alberta Railway & Coal Company.

New Stirling

Construction of the ''St. Mary Railway'', beginning in Stirling and ending in

Cardston Cardston is a town in Alberta, Canada. It was first settled in 1887 by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who travelled from Utah, via the Macleod-Benton Trail, to present-day Alberta in one of the century' ...

began in 1900 and was finished in 1902. The Canadian Pacific Railway took over all assets of Alberta Railway and Irrigation company (successor of Alberta Railway Coal Company) in 1912 and started construction of a new line east of Stirling to Saskatchewan. Stirling had now become an important

railway junction A junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge. This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes (assuming they are of the same gauge), provided by ''points'' ( ...

in Southern Alberta with rail lines from north, south, east and west. To accommodate the expansion of the railway the CPR needed more space for yards and shunting.

Kipp Coulee Kipp Coulee is located in Southern Alberta, Canada. It is southeast of the town of Raymond and starts on the north shore of the Milk River Ridge Reservoir it then makes its way through the Village of Stirling and then it joins the Etzikom Coulee j ...

near the original station did not have enough room to expand, so the CPR moved the station one mile north. This created an ideal location for a new town. A town site was planned and lots were advertised for sale in what was called New Stirling also known as New Town. Due to confusion between the two post offices in Stirling and New Stirling, the name was changed to Maybutt. Mr. Fisher, who was the original owner and planner of the town site syndicate of Stirling, decided to rename the town after his wife, Mrs. "May Butt". A large hotel; the Prairie Queen Hotel, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Church, and a large variety of other businesses and houses quickly sprung up shortly after land was opened up. The community even had its own newspaper; the "New Stirling Star". The town did not flourish and eventually, buildings were moved away; the school, that was never built was closed, before speculation of building one had failed. By the 1950s the post office closed its doors. Maybutt slowly died off making it a forgotten ghost town with few original buildings remaining. In recent years homes have been moved into Maybutt as small hobby farms and acreages.

Geography and climate

Stirling is in the County of Warner No. 5, and lies 31 km (19 mi) south-east of Lethbridge, at the junction of Highway 4 and Highway 846. The Milk River Ridge is south of the village, and

Etzikom Coulee Etzikom Coulee is a coulee located in Southern Alberta, Canada. The waterway was formed as a glacial spillway channel at the end of the last ice age. Course The Etzikom Coulee begins northeast of the town of Stirling, and makes its way southea ...

and

are north of it.

Climate

Stirling experiences a

semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

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 ...

BSk BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK L ...

''). Stirling is subject to chinooks, which bring temperatures in mid-winter above 10 °C (50 °F). Chinooks bring more than 200 days of wind a year.

Economy

Agriculture

Historically, Stirling's economy has relied mainly on

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 ...

as a main industry. The community still has strong roots to agriculture and has become one of the 21 communities that have joined the South Grow Regional Initiative, a proposal to accelerate and enhance

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

and sustainability for communities within the SouthGrow Regional Initiative region. Three quarters of a mile north east of town stands a 200 foot tall concrete terminal grain elevator. The large elevator was built between 1998 and 1999 at a cost of $11 million and was one of the first elevators of its kind in the area. The elevator was built with a capacity of 17,500

metric tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...

Other industries

Stirling's location and rich history makes

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

another main industry. Stirling has a variety of businesses and recreation, such as a convenience store, a wooden crib grain elevator now used as a hemp plant, a truck and tractor dealer, a pool, a community-owned campground, and a library, two museums and a community park known as Centennial Park.

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 Village of Stirling had a population of 1,164 living in 360 of its 379 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 978. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population of the Village of Stirling according to its 2017 municipal census is 1,269, a change of from its 2013 municipal census population of 1,147. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village of Stirling recorded a population of 978 living in 308 of its 375 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 1,090. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Government

The village is governed by a village council composed of a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

and four councillors, and administered by a village chief administrative officer. Municipal elections are held every four years.

Infrastructure

The village is connected to two highways: Highway 4, which heads south to

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Cana ...

and north to Lethbridge, and the historic

Red Coat Trail The Red Coat Trail is a route that approximates the path taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police in their March West from Fort Dufferin to Fort Whoop-Up. Route description A number of highways in southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, an ...

also known as Highway 61, which heads east to Foremost and then ends in Manyberries. Emergency services are provided by the nearby town of Raymond, where th
Raymond Health Centre
and

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

(RCMP) are detached. The village has its own volunteer fire department, which has served Stirling and area since 1957. In recent years, village residents have reestablished the local Neighborhood watch program, an organized group of residents devoted to crime and vandalism prevention within the village.

Tourism

Stirling's recreational facilities include ball parks, a swimming pool and water slides, a tennis court, a community centre with large picnic area, playgrounds, rodeo grounds, fish pond, cafe, Bed & breakfast, and library. The

Milk River Ridge Reservoir Milk River Ridge Reservoir is an artificial lake in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located about south-east of Lethbridge, along Highway 506, west of Highway 4 and is a popular spot for summer activities. The lake is developed along the ...

south of Stirling supports water recreation in the summer months, and Stirling Lake also known as Michelsen Marsh, north of Stirling supports bird watchers year-round. At the east entrance of Main Street (1 Ave & 4 St.) is a newly built

information kiosk Historically, a kiosk () was a small garden pavilion open on some or all sides common in Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and in the Ottoman Empire from the 13th century onward. Today, several examples of this type of kiosk still exist in an ...

made to replicate that of an older pioneer home found throughout Stirling and area. In the kiosk are historical markers and a map that shows many sites of interest throughout the National Historic Site of Stirling.

Mormon Trail

The village of Stirling sits along the historic

& Canada's Mormon Trail. A 2-4 hour self-guided tour starting in Stirling, which happens to be the first community along the trail starting at the intersection of Highway 4 and

846 __NOTOC__ Year 846 ( DCCCXLVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Byzantine–Bulgarian War: The Bulgarians violate the peace treaty ...

and west to the town of Raymond, along Highway 52, then following

Highway 5 Route 5, or Highway 5, may refer to routes in the following countries: International * Asian Highway 5 * European route E05 * European route E005 Argentina * National Route 5 Australia New South Wales * M5 Motorway (Sydney) * The De ...

past Magrath, all the way to Cardston. In recent years a group was formed to unite all these communities along the Mormon Trail. Each year the communities of Stirling, Raymond, Magrath & Cardston, partner together to hold annual events such as

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua br ...

, to show local talent and history of the Mormon communities along the trail.

Museums

Michelsen Farmstead The Andreas Michelsen Farmstead was originally built as a two-room house in 1902 by Andreas himself. In 1912 an addition was added to the home, making seven rooms in total, and little has changed since. The homestead consists of a 1 1/2-story Vic ...

- a typical farmstead found throughout Stirling in the early 1900s. The Michelsen's farmstead was declared a

Provincial Historic Site of Alberta Provincial historic sites of Alberta are museums and historic sites run by the Government of Alberta. Only sites owned by the provincial government and run as a functioning historic site or museum are known as Provincial Historic Sites. Bui ...

in 2001, and is maintained by the Stirling Historical Society who have restored the farm back to its 1930s heritage. Located on the corner of 6th Street and 2nd Avenue. *

Bishop's storehouse A bishop's storehouse in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) usually refers to a commodity resource center that is used by bishops (lay leaders of local congregations analogous to pastors or parish priests in other Chris ...

, Also known as Lord's storehouse, moved to its current location next to the Kiosk on the corner of 1st Street and 4th Avenue.

Local attractions

*Stirling Lions Club Fish Pond, stocked every year with new fish for fishing. Corner of 7th Street and 4th Avenue. *Centennial Park, a community park with swimming pool, playgrounds, a tennis court, basketball courts, reunion center, a senior citizen's center, baseball diamonds and campground. * William T. Ogden House, a Neo-Classical style house that is declared as a

Provincial historic site of Alberta Provincial historic sites of Alberta are museums and historic sites run by the Government of Alberta. Only sites owned by the provincial government and run as a functioning historic site or museum are known as Provincial Historic Sites. Bui ...

located in Stirling. Every year around Halloween the owners of the home decorate the house as a live

haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the prope ...

, making it the largest haunted house in

southern Alberta Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2004, the region's population was approximately 272,017.Lost Frontier Mini-Railway, a small train park open by booking from May to October and is a very popular local attraction. Located on the grounds of the William T. Ogden House, the park also has a

petting zoo A petting zoo (also called a children's zoo, children's farm, or petting farm) features a combination of domesticated animals and some wild species that are docile enough to touch and feed. In addition to independent petting zoos, many genera ...

, a mini village, a large

Cuckoo clock A cuckoo clock is, typically, a pendulum clock that strikes the hours with a sound like a common cuckoo call and has an automated cuckoo bird that moves with each note. Some move their wings and open and close their beaks while leaning forwards ...

as well as the "worlds smallest church". 441 4th Street.

Events

*''Stirling Community Garage Sale'' (''Saturday of

Victoria Day Victoria Day (french: Fête de la Reine, lit=Celebration of the Queen) is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25. Initially in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday, it has since been celebrated as the offi ...

weekend''), community garage sale held by the Stirling Historical Society. *''

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

Community

BBQ Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

'' (''June''), community BBQ held at the Stirling Lions Hall. *''Stirling Settler Days'' (''July''), after Stirling's founding on May 5, 1899, the 24th of July, previously known as "

Pioneer Day Pioneer Day is an official holiday celebrated on July 24 in the American state of Utah, with some celebrations taking place in regions of surrounding states originally settled by Mormon pioneers. It commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and ...

" & now called "Stirling Settler Days", was celebrated to mark the Mormon pioneers' arrival in the Salt Lake Valley. *''Stirling Fall Festival'' (''September''), held at the grounds of the Michelsen Farmstead each year. Visitors get to make

rope A rope is a group of yarns, plies, fibres, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting. Rope is thicker and stronger than similar ...

, stick dolls, and dipped candles, there are also wagon rides as well as kiddie games. *''Harvest Dance'' (''October''), also held at the Michelsens farmstead, Old-fashioned Barn dance. *''

Christmas Dinner Christmas dinner is a meal traditionally eaten at Christmas. This meal can take place any time from the evening of Christmas Eve to the evening of Christmas Day itself. The meals are often particularly rich and substantial, in the tradition of ...

'' (''November''), a community dinner with traditional home cooking. *''A Victorian Christmas'' (''December''), a dinner and show at the Galt Historic Railway Park. *'' Santa Claus Mansion'' (''December''), held at the William Ogden House in conjunction with the town's Christmas lights tour. *'' Christmas Lights tour'' (''December''), held in conjunction with the Santa Claus Mansion to view citizen's Christmas light displays.

Regional attractions

;Devil's Coulee Dinosaur Heritage Museum: The Devil's Coulee Dinosaur Heritage Museum features a

Hadrosaur Hadrosaurids (), or duck-billed dinosaurs, are members of the ornithischian family Hadrosauridae. This group is known as the duck-billed dinosaurs for the flat duck-bill appearance of the bones in their snouts. The ornithopod family, which incl ...

(duck-billed dinosaur) nest and embryo, ancient fossils, dinosaur models, located in the Village of Warner. ;Galt Historic Railway Park: The '' Galt Historic Railway Park'' located 1 km north of Stirling is another popular museum which displays the life and travel of the late 1880s to early 1920s in the restored 1890 North-West Territories International Train Station from

Coutts, Alberta Coutts ( ) is a village in southern Alberta, Canada that is a port of entry into the U.S. state of Montana. It is one of the busiest ports of entry on the Canada–United States border in western Canada. It connects Highway 4 to Interstate 15, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, and Sweetgrass, Montana, USA. The station was moved to the current location near Stirling in 2000 and is added onto every year. ;Waterton Lakes National Park

Waterton Lakes National Park Waterton Lakes National Park is a national park located in the southwest corner of Alberta, Canada. It borders Glacier National Park in Montana, United States. Waterton was the fourth Canadian national park, formed in 1895 and named after Waterto ...

is a national park located in the extreme southwest corner of Alberta, Canada, 40 km west of Cardston, and borders Glacier National Park in Montana, USA.

Waterton Lake Waterton Lake is a mountain lake in southern Alberta, Canada and northern Montana, United States. The lake is composed of two bodies of water, connected by a shallow channel known locally as the Bosporus. The two parts are referred to as Middle Wat ...

s was Canada's fourth national park formed in 1895. The

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico ...

rise suddenly out of the rolling prairies in the park. Amid the peaks are the three Waterton Lakes, carved out of the rock by ancient

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s. ;Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park is located about southeast of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, or east of the community of Milk River, and straddles the Milk River itself. It is one of the largest areas of protected prairie in the Alberta park sy ...

, 44 km east of Milk River, is one of the largest areas of protected prairie in the Alberta park system, and serves as both a

nature preserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

and protection for the largest concentration of rock art, created by Plains People. There are over 50 rock art sites, with thousands of figures, as well as numerous archeological sites.

Education

Stirling has one school that covers

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

through grade 12 in the Westwind School Division. Enrollment for Stirling School was 322 in 2006. Stirling School is home to a few athletic teams, from

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players p ...

, even

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

Sports

In 1924, rodeo pioneer and Stirling cowboy Earl W. Bascom designed and made rodeo's first one-hand bareback rigging, which is now standard rodeo equipment used around the world, making Stirling the "Home of the Modern Rodeo Bareback Rigging." Earl Bascom is considered the world's greatest inventor of rodeo equipment. The high school girls basketball team, the Lakettes, won the 1A girls basketball provincial championships in 1997–1999. They placed in three other provincial championships between 1996 and 2006, and won or placed second for 6 straight years between 1996 and 2003. The high school boys basketball team, the Lakers, won the 1A boys basketball provincial championships in 2001, 2003, 2006, 2007 and 2008. They placed second in three other provincial championships between 1996 and 2006, and have played in 6 of the last 10 championships. In 2006 the final game was a decisive 98–68 victory over the third-ranked Youngstown Falcons. Besides the provincial title, the Stirling Lakers recorded a season of 30 wins, 9 losses, and 3 other tournament champion titles, including the 1A South Zone Title, the Picture Butte Sugar King Invitational, and the Mccoy Invitational. The Stirling Lakers followed up their 2006 season with another provincial title in 2007. The Lakers were victorious in the championship game over their rivals from Foremost. On their way to provincials, the Lakers were also crowned South Zone champions. In 2008 Stirling hosted provincials and ended up winning their third provincial title in a row.

Media

Stirling is served by a number of regional newspapers including the Westwind Weekly, Lethbridge Herald, and Prairie Post. At one time, Stirling had a newspaper of its own called the Stirling Star. Newspapers *'' Lethbridge Herald'' *''Prairie Post'', a newspaper focused on Alberta and the southwest region of

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

. *''Stirling Star'' was Stirling's newspaper printed in New Stirling until the late 1930s. *''Westwind Weekly'', a weekly newspaper featuring news from Stirling and surrounding communities. Movies *''Pure Escape'', movie shot throughout southern Alberta and Stirling in the 1980s. *''

The Calgary Stampede ''The Calgary Stampede'' is a 1925 American silent Western film directed by Herbert Blaché and starring Hoot Gibson. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. Plot As described in a film magazine, Dan Malloy (Gibson), an Ameri ...

'', movie filmed in 1925, starring

Hoot Gibson Edmund Richard "Hoot" Gibson (August 6, 1892 – August 23, 1962) was an American rodeo champion, film actor, film director, and producer. While acting and stunt work began as a sideline to Gibson's focus on rodeo, he successfully transitioned ...

. Gibson rode a team of palomino horses in a Roman standing race filmed at the Calgary Stampede. The palomino horses were from the Bascom Ranch of Stirling. *'' RV'', movie filmed in the

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

area and southern Alberta including the Stirling area, May–December 2005, starring

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

Cheryl Hines Cheryl Ruth Hines (born September 21, 1965) is an American actress and director, best known for playing the role of Larry David's wife, Cheryl, on HBO's ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'', for which she has been nominated for two Emmy Awards. She also s ...

, Joanna Levesque,

Josh Hutcherson Joshua Ryan Hutcherson (born October 12, 1992) is an American actor and producer. Hutcherson began acting in the early 2000s and appeared in several commercials and minor film and television roles before landing his first major role in 2002 in ...

, Jeff Daniels, and

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

Notable people

* Earl W. Bascom (1906-1995) - moved to Stirling in 1924, rodeo pioneer, inventor of modern rodeo bareback rigging, cowboy halls of fame inductee, "father of modern rodeo," Hollywood actor, western artist and sculptor * Theodore Brandley - LDS

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

and colonizer of Stirling *

Reg Kesler Reg Kesler (October 16, 1919 – May 16, 2001) began his rodeo career at the age of 14 at the Raymond Stampede, competing in the boys steer riding. At the time, it was common for cowboys to compete in many or even all the rodeo events, and ...

Calgary Stampede The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition, and festival held every July in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The ten-day event, which bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth", attracts over one million visitors per year and featu ...

champion and member of the Canadian Professional Rodeo Hall of Fame * Jim Hillyer (1974–2016) - Member of Parliament

References

External links

* {{Coord, 49, 30, 8, N, 112, 31, 0, W, scale:60000, display=title, name=Stirling 1901 establishments in the Northwest Territories Latter-day Saint settlements in Canada Populated places established in 1899 Villages in Alberta