Magrath 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 ...

Cardston County Cardston County is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 3 around the Town of Cardston. The municipal district was established on January 1, 1954, through the amalgamation of the ''Municipal Dist ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, Canada. Its population was 2,481 in 2021. Magrath is south of

Lethbridge Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 101,482 in its 2019 Alberta municipal censuses, 2019 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...

and south of

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

History

Magrath was established in 1899 by settlers sent by

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 Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...

(LDS Church) from

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. These

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 c ...

settlers were recruited by the Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company to construct

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

works in the area funded by British interests by the family of Sir Alexander Galt. The settlers were paid in cash and land in the town. This was the first major irrigation work in Canada and was made possible by the settlers' experience with the extensive irrigation projects undertaken by their church in Utah and Idaho. The irrigation system was completed in November 1899 and spanned ninety-miles. It was the first large-scale irrigation system in Canada. The area's irrigation canal system supplies water to farmers throughout Southern Alberta and was the first major irrigation project in Canada. In its early years Magrath was known as The Irrigation Capital of Canada, and later as "The Garden City" for its beautiful natural setting and plentiful trees. The design and layout of Magrath was based on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints '

Plat of Zion Within the Latter Day Saint movement, Zion is often used to connote an association of the righteous. This association would practice a form of communitarian economics called the United Order meant to ensure that all members maintained an accepta ...

' urban design model. Magrath also has historical links to the internationally recognized British Garden City tradition which was piloted in England during this same period. Magrath was named after

Charles Alexander Magrath Charles Alexander Magrath (April 22, 1860 – October 30, 1949) was a Canadian land surveyor and statesman. He conducted foundation surveys of the North-West Territories (NWT) from 1878 until 1885. He joined Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt and Elli ...

, the son-in-law of Sir Alexander Galt. Magrath

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

was established 1 March 1900, with Ammon Mercer as first postmaster.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

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 ...

, the Town of Magrath had a population of 2,481 living in 803 of its 830 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 2,374. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. The population of the Town of Magrath according to its 2017 municipal census is 2,435, a change of from its 2015 municipal census population of 2,398. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Magrath recorded a population of 2,374 living in 757 of its 794 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 2,217. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Religious affiliation

The following is a breakdown of Magrath's population by religious affiliation from the 2001 federal census. * Protestant: 84% * Catholic: 4% * No religious affiliation: 11% * Christian Orthodox: <1% * Christian (unspecified denomination): <1% Statistics Canada includes 44 churches in its 2001 Protestant definition, including members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the

Community of Christ The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...

. The religious affiliation within Magrath is primarily from the LDS Church. There is a stake based in Magrath, which is composed of ten congregations (eight

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

and two branches) in the town and surrounding area. As of June 2016, the total membership in the Magrath Alberta Stake was reported as 2433 members.

Attractions

* Buffalo Bin Elevator - Magrath, the first of five ever built in the Province. The "Buffalo Bin" style

grain elevator A grain elevator is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lower level and deposits ...

was built as an experiential elevator for

Alberta Wheat Pool The Alberta Wheat Pool was the first of Canada's wheat farmer co-operatives in 1923. History Early years In 1923, the United Farmers of Alberta met with then Attorney General John Edward Brownlee to consider setting up a Wheat Pool just in Alb ...

in the 1970-1980s, today only three of the original buffalo bins remain. The others still standing are Foremost and

Fort Saskatchewan Fort Saskatchewan is a city along the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Edmonton, the provincial capital. It is part of the Edmonton census metropolitan area and one of 24 municipalities that constitute the Edmont ...

. * Galt Irrigation Canal, first major irrigation project in Canada, 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 An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

. * Galt Canal Nature Trail * Magrath Golf club * Magrath Skateboard Park * Magrath Wind farm * Magrath Christmas lightshow near 2nd Ave. North. An annual 50,000+ bulb Christmas light show sync'd to current musical hits, often with live Reindeer

Notable people

* Randall K. Bennett, general authority of the LDS Church. *

Phil Tollestrup Phil Tollestrup (born October 21, 1949) is a former Olympic basketball player as a member of the Canadian national men's basketball team during the 1970s. Six feet, six inches tall forward, Tollestrup attributes the development of his basketbal ...

(b. 1949), Olympics basketball player and member of the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame * Gordon McOmber (1919-2018), Lieutenant Governor for Montana (1988-1989) was born in Magrath. * Taylor Cook (b.1999), Power forward for the MacEwan University Griffins men’s basketball team

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1901 establishments in the Northwest Territories Cardston County Latter-day Saint settlements in Canada Populated places established in 1899 Towns in Alberta