Fort Macleod, originally named Macleod, is a town in the southwest of the province of Alberta, Canada. It was founded as a North-West Mounted Police barracks, and is named in honour of the North-West Mounted Police Colonel James Macleod. It was known as the Town of Macleod between 1892 and 1912.
History
The fort was built as a 70 by 70 meters square on October 18, 1874. The east side held the men's quarters and the west side held those of the Mounties. Buildings such as hospitals, stores and guardrooms were in the south end. Stables and the blacksmith's shop were in the north end. The town grew on the location of the Fort Macleod North-West Mounted Police Barracks, the second headquarters of the NWMP after Fort Livingstone was abandoned in 1876. Fort Macleod was originally established in 1874 on a peninsula along the Oldman River, then moved in 1884 to the present town location. The Museum of the North-West Mounted Police is located in Fort Macleod. Once agricultural settlement and the railway came to the region, Macleod boomed. The town became a divisional point for the Canadian Pacific Railway and frontier wood construction began to be replaced by brick and sandstone. In 1906 a fire devastated the downtown and destroyed most of the wooden buildings. From 1906 to 1912 Macleod had its greatest period of growth, as more new brick and stone building replaced the destroyed wooden ones. Then in 1912 the CPR moved the divisional point and 200 jobs to Lethbridge, devastating the local economy. Fort Macleod ceased to grow, and in 1924 was forced to declare bankruptcy. Until the 1970s, the town's economy stagnated and the buildings from the turn-of-the-century remained untouched. In 1978 Alberta Culture started to inventory the downtown buildings, and in 1982 the downtown became Alberta's first "Provincial Historic Area". As well, Heritage Canada started a Main Street Restoration Project in 1982, aiming to preserve the sandstone and brick buildings, some dating back to 1878.
Demographics
In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Fort Macleod recorded a population of 2,967 living in 1,226 of its 1,426 total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of 3,117. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2016. In the 2011 Census, the Town of Fort Macleod had a population of 3,117 living in 1,244 of its 1,350 total dwellings, a 1.5% change from its 2006 population of 3,072. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2011.
Fort Macleod experiences a humid continental climate. The community enjoys frequent breaks from cold spells in winter when the Chinook wind blows down-slope from the Rocky Mountains. A Chinook on 27 February 1992 caused the temperature to rise to. The highest temperature ever recorded at Fort Macleod was on 7 July 1896, 18 July 1910 and 17 July 1919. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on 2 February 1905, 17 December 1924 and 28 January 1929.
Sports
The town is home to the Fort Macleod Mustangshockey team of the Ranchland Hockey League.
Media
Fort Macleod's local weekly newspaper is the Fort Macleod Gazette. ;Historical newspapers
Macleod Chronicle — in print approximately July 1908 through June 1909
Macleod Gazette — early issues were entitled The Macleod Gazette and Alberta Stock Record
Macleod News — ran from November 2, 1916, through to June 1919
Macleod Spectator — lasted from April 30, 1912, until October 26, 1916
A selection of historical newspapers from Fort Macleod have been digitized from microfilm and are available in the from the University of Lethbridge Library digitized collections. Included are: Macleod Advertiser, Macleod Chronicle, Macleod Gazette, Macleod News, & Macleod Spectator.
Ang Lee's Academy Award-winning movie Brokeback Mountain was filmed in part in Fort Macleod. The laundry apartment is located at 2422 Third Avenue, where a sign is posted marking the "passionate reunion" of Jack and Ennis. Passchendaele was also filmed in Fort Macleod's historic downtown, which acted as a stand-in for Calgary circa 1915. Scenes involving the dust storm and Matthew McConaughey's character were also filmed in Fort Macleod in Christopher Nolan's 2014 filmInterstellar, where the giant dust clouds were created on location using large fans to blow cellulose-based synthetic dust through the air. Francesco Lucente's motion picture drama Badland was filmed mostly in Fort Macleod. Francesco Lucente lived in Fort Macleod from 1974 to 1978. His father Salvatore Lucente owned the American and Queens Hotels during that time.
