Raymond is a town in
southern Alberta
Southern Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. In 2016, the region's population was approximately 291,112. The primary cities are Lethbridge and Medicine Hat. The region is known mostly for agricultural production, but o ...
, Canada that is surrounded by the
County of Warner No. 5. It is south of
Lethbridge
Lethbridge ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. With a population of 106,550 in the 2023 Alberta municipal censuses, 2023 municipal census, Lethbridge became the fourth Alberta city to surpass 100,000 people. The nearby Canadian ...
at the junction of
Highway 52 and
Highway 845. Raymond is known for its annual
rodeo
Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
during the first week of July and the large population of members of
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 Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
(LDS Church).
[ Raymond is also significant for its connection to the history of the Japanese experience in Alberta. The town has a rich history in high school sports, basketball, Canadian football, Judo and women's rugby. Raymond was recently mentioned as one of the first communities in Alberta to become a net-zero solar-powered community, after having installed solar panels on most town buildings.
]
History
Raymond was founded in 1901 by mining magnate and industrialist Jesse Knight
Jesse Knight (6 September 1845 — 14 March 1921) was an American mining magnate, one of relatively few Latter-day Saints in 19th century Western America to find major success in the field.
After the death of his father Newel Knight, Jesse's ...
, who named the town after his son, Raymond
Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...
. Knight's plans to build a sugar factory based on locally grown sugar beets attracted 1,500 settlers in a few years.
Raymond was incorporated as a village in the North-West Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of the three territories in Northern Canada. Its estimated pop ...
(NWT) on May 30, 1902.[ It incorporated as a town in the NWT 13 months later on July 1, 1903.]
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population 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 Raymond had a population of 4,199 living in 1,330 of its 1,383 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 3,713. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
The population of the Town of Raymond according to its 2019 municipal census is 4,241, a change from its 2017 municipal census population of 4,037.
In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Raymond recorded a population of 3,708 living in 1,134 of its 1,259 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 3,743. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.
Visible minorities
As of 2006, approximately 3.0% of the town's population were visible minorities. Of those minorities, 50 people identified themselves as 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 ...
ese, 40 as Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
, and 10 as South Asia
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
n.
Religion
A majority of Raymondites are members of the LDS Church.[Brigham Y. Card, "Mormons", in Paul R. Magocsi ed., ''Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples'' (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999, ).] In the town, the church has built four meetinghouses, which house eleven separate congregations and which form one stake
A stake is a large wooden or metal implement designed to be driven into the ground and may refer to:
Tools
* Archer's stake, a defensive stake carried by medieval longbowmen
* Survey stakes, markers used by surveyors
* Sudis (stake) (Latin for ...
.[Raymond Alberta Stake]
churchofjesuschrist.org, accessed 2011-05-20. (The church's closest temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
, the Cardston Alberta Temple, is located 60 kilometres (37 mi) southwest in Cardston.) Raymond also has Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
, Mennonite
Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...
, and United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada (UCC; ) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholic Church in Canada.
The United Chu ...
congregations. Until its temple was relocated to Lethbridge in 2006, the Raymond Buddhist Church was the oldest continually used Buddhist sanctuary in Canada.[Alberta Register of Historic Places: Raymond Buddhist Church]
Charitable giving
Statistics Canada has reported that Raymond ranks among the top five communities in Canada for the highest level of charitable donations per capita, which is partially due to the town population's high rate of tithe
A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...
s given to the LDS Church.[
]
Attractions
In 1902, one year after it was founded, Raymond held an outdoor rodeo and called it a ''stampede''; this was Canada's first organized rodeo event. Since the inaugural event, the Raymond Stampede has been held annually. It is currently held in conjunction with Raymond's Heritage Days celebration between June 30 and July 1 every summer.
Raymond Heritage Days are held annually during the first week of July to celebrate the founding of Raymond. Events and activities include family softball, fireworks, midnight golfing, a fair, a pancake breakfast, a parade and the Raymond Stampede.
Raymond is home to the Raymond Judo Club, the first judo club in Alberta. The club was formed by Yoshio Katsuta in 1943.
The Raymond Aquatic Centre opened in 2010. It features two small waterslides, a junior Olympic-sized pool for lane swimming, diving boards, a climbing wall, a baby pool, and an eating area. The aquatic centre holds 1,000,000 litres of water during the summer and attracts up to 500 visitors a day.
The Raymond Buddhist Church is one of the oldest buildings in Raymond and the only remaining public building from the town's pioneer days.[ The building is a designated Provincial Historic Resource. It is significant for its association with two prominent religious communities in Raymond, the LDS Church and the Japanese Buddhists. It is also the site of the Japanese Experience in Alberta National Historic Event.
The Raymond Community Centre, also a designated Provincial Historic Resource, contains the Raymond Public Library and the Broadway Theatre.
]
Climate
Raymond has 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 se ...
(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 ...
BSk) it is part of the Palliser's Triangle
Palliser's Triangle (), or the Palliser Triangle, is a semi-arid steppe occupying a substantial portion of the Western Canadian Canadian Prairies, Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, within the Great Plains region. While initially determined to be ...
.
Raymond is very windy this is due to the rocky mountains to the west.
Notable people
* Earl W. Bascom, rodeo innovator, artist/sculptor
* Ted E. Brewerton, LDS Church general authority
* "Suicide Ted" Elder (1897–1981), seven-time World Champion Trick and Fancy Rider 1926 to 1932
* Lloyd Fairbanks, professional football player
* Skouson Harker, professional basketball player
* Jim Hillyer, politician, Member of Parliament
* Jennie B. Knight, LDS religious leader
* Raymond Knight, founder of the Raymond Stampede
* Brett Ralph, professional Canadian football player
* Brock Ralph, professional Canadian football player
* W. Cleon Skousen, author and political commentator
* Phil Tollestrup, Olympics
The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...
basketball player and member of the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame
* William R. Walker, LDS Church general authority“Elder William R. Walker Of the Seventy,”
'' Liahona'', July 2002, p. 123.
* Wendy Watson Nelson, therapist, professor, author
See also
*List of communities in Alberta
The province of Alberta, Canada, is divided into ten types of Local government in Canada, local governments – urban municipalities (including List of cities in Alberta, cities, List of towns in Alberta, towns, List of villages in Alberta, vil ...
*List of towns in Alberta
A town is an List of communities in Alberta#Urban municipalities, urban municipality status type used in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. Alberta towns are created when communities with populations of at le ...
* Temple Hill (Warner County, Alberta)
* John W. Taylor
References
* Lawrence Turner (ed.) (1993) ''Raymond Remembered : Settlers, Sugar and Stampedes : A History of the Town and People of Raymond'' (Raymond, AB: Town of Raymond)
* Terrence C. Smith & Reed Turner (eds.) (2001). ''A Planting of the Lord : A Century of the Latter-day Saints in Raymond, 1901–2001'' (Raymond, AB: Raymond Alberta Stake
A stake is a large wooden or metal implement designed to be driven into the ground and may refer to:
Tools
* Archer's stake, a defensive stake carried by medieval longbowmen
* Survey stakes, markers used by surveyors
* Sudis (stake) (Latin for ...
)
External links
*
{{Authority control
1902 establishments in the Northwest Territories
Latter-day Saint settlements in Canada
Populated places established in 1901
Towns in Alberta
1901 establishments in the Northwest Territories