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| A Town with a History Preserving History & Building for the Future Nestled along the Sheep River Valley in the heart of the Alberta Foothills chinook zone, Okotoks is a friendly community with a strong past, vibrant present, and optimistic future. Okotoks is flanked by the the Rocky Mountains to the west, and is situated 18 kms south of the Calgary city limits.
Okotoks History - Long and Varied First Nations peoples inhabited the Okotoks area for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the Europeans. The name, Okotoks, is derived from "o'kotok", a Blackfoot First Nation word meaning rock or stone. The actual intent is lost in history. However it is generally agreed that it refers to either the "Big Rock" west of town, or the "Stoney Crossing" of Sheep Creek. Trading Posts & Stage Stops David Thompson explored the area as early as 1800. Soon, trading posts sprang up, including one established in 1874 at the Sheep River crossing on the current Okotoks town site. This crossing, on the trade route called the Macleod Trail, which led from Fort Benton, Montana to Calgary opened the area to the cowboys, whiskey traders, settlers, farmers, and ranchers. The colourful past and rich heritage that is Okotoks was established. The last stagecoach stopped in Okotoks in 1891 when rail service between Calgary and Fort Macleod replaced horse-drawn travel.
Grand Central Hotel The Grand Central Hotel was built in 1905 by Alex and Hugh Patterson. It used to stand on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Centre Avenue in Okotoks, and was three stories high with wide covered verandahs. There were forty-two rooms, including a large dining room, billiard room, bar, and sample rooms where traveling salesman displayed their goods. It fell into disrepair in 1928, and was torn down. Another hotel, the Willingdon, was built in its place. Boom Days By 1906, Okotoks was a booming metropolis. There were hotels, livery stables, blacksmiths, churches, doctors, implement dealers, stone quarries, brickyards, a bank, hospital, drugstore, veterinarian, telephone operator, newspaper, and a cement plant. When oil was discovered west of town in 1913, Okotoks became the major supply centre. Hitching Posts & Wooden Sidewalks Okotoks modernized in 1929 with the removal of wooden sidewalks and hitching posts from it's main street. However, the cowboy culture, old-style saloons and a sense of adventure remained. With aboriginal beginnings, the colourful history of traders, mounties, cowboys and ranchers, Okotoks is now a relaxed, modern, upbeat town preparing for the future. |
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| Macleod Trail - 1880's The Macleod Trail was the single connection between Calgary and Fort Benton, Montana prior to the arrival of the railway in Western Canada. It crossed the Sheep Creek in Okotoks near the present railway bridge and then passed diagonally through the town.
The modern day Macleod Trail in Calgary is located approximately where the old cart path used to etch out an existence in the prairie grass. Stopping Houses Kenneth Cameron and John MacMillan were two of the first homesteaders in the Okotoks area. Cameron and MacMillan each established stopping houses to serve travelers on the Macleod Trail. A 1892 map shows how the trail branched off into two trails heading into Okotoks from the south; one homestead to the north of the Sheep River flowing through Okotoks and one to the south. Cameron's stopping house became more popular over time as Cameron had five daughters. East of Okotoks, the two trails joined again to continue on to Fort Macleod and southern destinations. |
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| Early Settlers Ranchers - Farmers - Entrepreneurs
John Lineham - Lumber Mill John Lineham came to southern Alberta in 1878. For 25 years, his sawmill was a mainstay of the local economy. At one time it employed 135 people, producing an average of 30 000 feet of lumber per day, partly to satisfy the CPR's demand for railway ties. One of the oldest remaining buildings in Okotoks today is the Lineham Lumber Mill on Riverside Drive constructed in 1897. The Pioneer Spirit Continues Okotoks modernized in 1929 with the removal of wooden sidewalks and hitching posts from main street. A coal mine opened briefly on South Railway Street in the 1940's, and was joined by the Chinook Flour Mill that opened in Mahon House. The mill closed at the end of the War, but the house continued on, claiming the prize for the first indoor plumbing in a house in Okotoks. 1925 - 1950 1925 to 1950 in Okotoks was a period of ups and downs - mostly downs. The Oil boom was over and the need for supplies dwindled. Men left to fight in World War II, and many did not return. Okotoks was not immune to the Great Depression. The economy forced shut downs of the businesses. The population declined to 600 hopeful people. 1970's It was not until the late 1970's that Okotoks boomed again when people searched for a small town way of life as an alternative to City living. Okotoks gained popularity as a desirable bedroom community of Calgary. Okotoks now has a population of 21,000 and is continuing to grow. Population Cap Although Okotoks currently has a population cap of 30,000 residents, growth pressures, combined with projected population rates, are causing the town to take a second look at its policy on new residents. The municipal alliance known as the Calgary Regional Partnership is sketching a land-use plan that envisions 80,000 to 100,000 people living between Okotoks and Calgary's south border by 2070.  |
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| Cowboy Influence - Chucks & Bucks Okotoks and the surrounding area has had many colorful and talented cowboys over the years. One only needs to think about the Glass Family, Iris, Tommy and Jason and the thoughts of chuckwagons comes to mind. Think Robin Burwash and you immediately associate bucking horses. Think Wayne Vold and you envision a ranch with the most beautiful horses all "born to buck".
The Horse Whisperer If there was a "horse whisperer" in Okotoks, he was Gid Garstead. Cowboys and Okotoks are synonymous. Rodeo is a part of a very unique lifestyle in Okotoks, a tradition handed down from the forefathers who developed various events, evolved them into competitions of individuals and animals, and competed against their neighboring ranches. It was all about the most skilled cowhands and the best animals and Okotoks has had it's fair share. The Okotoks Pro Rodeo continues to provide the same fierce competition, skill and excitement. Although the modern day cowboy no longer wears his guns, hitches his horse along main street, or trots directly into the local watering hole, Okotoks is still very much a cowboy town producing the best of the best - World Champions of the Rodeo. Ian Tyson - Real Cowboys Drink Cappuccino And now they can find it in Longview, a village west of Okotoks. "Cowboys like their coffee hot," said singer-songwriter Ian Tyson, who recently opened a take-out coffee house on the main street of Longview. He has called his enterprise Navajo Mug - a play on words from his 1986 song Navajo Rug. Listen to Navajo Rug
A rodeo rider when he was in his late teens and early 20s, Ian took up the guitar while recovering from an accident he sustained in a fall. Ian Tyson's ranch west of Okotoks inspires his songwriting about cowboys, horses and the old west. Coined "word painter of the west", Ian is one of Canada's legendary country and western singers. His lyrics reach the heart of the West. Half Mile of Hell allows listeners to feel the exhilaration of the chuckwagon races and the thrill of the rodeo. Listen to Half a Mile of Hell Rodeo Clowns Rodeo Clowns put themselves in the line of danger every time they go to work. With painted-on smiles and baggy britches, they manage to evoke the nostalgia of the old west as they risk their lives to protect others. It may look like fun and games to the people in the stands, but it is serious business. Not just any clown can do it. Okotoks is proud of the many clowns that have called Okotoks home over the years. Denny the Rodeo Clown Dennis Halstead joined the rodeo circuit without any training on how to be a rodeo clown. Since then, he has been named the Canadian Entertainer of the year twice and is ranked as one of the top five rodeo clowns in the world.
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| Native Influence First Nations peoples inhabited the Okotoks area for thousands of years prior to the arrival of the Europeans. The name, Okotoks, is derived from "o'kotok", a Blackfoot First Nation word meaning rock or stone. The actual intent is lost in history. However it is generally agreed that it refers to either the "Big Rock" west of town, or the "Stoney Crossing" of Sheep Creek. Plains Tribes did not use rivers to travel on. A good river crossing was important like the one near the present day Town of Okotoks.
Although in their language they always referred to themselves as "Na-ko-da" (meaning "people"), today they are known everywhere as the Stoney Indians. The people of Eden Valley, south of Okotoks, are the descendants of the Dakota, Lakota and Nakoda peoples who used and occupied a vast area of the North American Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. |
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