| Mountain View County | |
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| — County — | |
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| Coordinates: 51°39′57″N 114°07′52″W / 51.66583°N 114.13111°W | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Alberta |
| Region | Central Alberta |
| Census division | No. 6 |
| Established | March 15, 1944 as M.D. of Mountain View #280 |
| Incorporated | January 1, 1961 as County of Mountain View #17 |
| Name changed | Jaunary 21, 1998 to Mountain View County |
| Government [1] | |
| - Governing body | Mountain View County Council |
| - Reeve | Al Kemmere |
| - County seat | Didsbury |
| Area | |
| - Total | 3,804.43 km2 (1,468.9 sq mi) |
| Population (2007)[2] | |
| - Total | 12,570 |
| - Density | 3.3/km2 (8.5/sq mi) |
| - Dwellings | 5,136 |
| Time zone | MST (UTC-7) |
| Website | Mountain View County |
Mountain View County is a county in Division No. 6 in the south of Alberta, Canada. It is located between the cities of Calgary and Red Deer along the Queen Elizabeth II highway (QEII) corridor. Mountain View County is a member of the Central Alberta Economic Partnership, Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties, and the Municipal Area Partnership.
Oil and gas is the main economic driver of Mountain View County, along with agriculture, forestry and tourism. The County is also home to a burgeoning commercial/ industrial sector, which includes the Netook Crossing development, located at the intersection of Highway 27 and the QEII.
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Demographics
The population of Mountain View County according to its 2007 municipal census is 12,570.[3]
In 2006, Mountain View County had a population of 12,391 living in 5,136 dwellings, a 2.2% increase from 2001. The county has a land area of 3,804.43 km2 (1,468.9 sq mi) and a population density of 3.3 /km2 (8.5/sq mi).[2]
In 2001, Mountain View County had a population of 12,134 in 4,851 dwellings, a 7.8% increase from 1996. On a surface of 3,805.06 km² it had a density of 3.2 inhabitants/km².[4]
History
The first government surveys of the area between Calgary and Edmonton weren't made until 1883, around the time when the Canadian Pacific Railway arrived from the east in what was then the small settlement of Calgary. Just to the east of where the busy Queen Elizabeth II highway runs today, people and goods traveled between Calgary and Fort Edmonton by wagon along the original Calgary and Edmonton (C&E) Trail. In 1890, the C & E (Calgary and Edmonton) Railway was chartered, and construction began, with the line reaching Mountain View by the end of the year.
While a handful of squatters had arrived pre-1890, settlement in Mountain View didn't begin in earnest until the arrival of the C & E Railway. On July 27, 1891 the first through train made the trip from Calgary to south Edmonton, marking the beginning of regular scheduled passenger train service for the next 60 years. After 1891, homesteaders began to arrive in the region from across Europe and North America, with settlements sprouting up around the fourth (Carstairs), fifth (Didsbury) and sixth (Olds) sidings.
Settlement in the early days was typified by ethnic and usually religious groups living in close-knit communities or colonies. Notable among them were a group of Mennonite families who homesteaded in the Didsbury area from Europe via Ontario around the turn of the 19th century. A large number of German settlers from the American Midwest also settled around Olds; and a group of Norwegian pioneers blazed a trail westward towards Sundre and Bergen.
It was also in the early 1890s that the first schools began to organize. By 1930, almost 90 school districts had been created to serve the Mountain View region, with the one-room school house remaining a fixture of rural life until 1936, when the Social Credit government allowed for the creation of larger school divisions.
As the population grew, so did the needs of the growing population. This led to the formation of local government, though the creation of Local Improvement Districts. These L.I.D's were relatively small administrative units, generally no bigger than 72 square miles in size, and were responsible for a number of limited duties including setting local tax rates, and keeping track of necessary local improvements.
In Dec. 1911 the Alberta government brought forward new legislation designed to introduce greater self government into rural areas of the province. Specifically, the Municipal Act of 1912 encouraged L.I.D's to consolidate with one another to form larger rural municipalities.
Initially the response to the idea of consolidation was unenthusiastic. A majority of rural residents in Mountain View voted against consolidation with other L.I.D's in a series of plebiscites held in 1912. Only the Rural Municipality of Mountain View No. 310 would be created out of four improvement districts around Olds and Didsbury, making it one of 55 rural municipalities to come into existence province-wide on Dec. 9, 1912. While Mountain View was the first to consolidate, others would soon follow their lead.
As consolidation continued throughput the ‘40s and ‘50s, the provincial government moved to amalgamate municipalities and the local school boards. In 1955, the M.D. of Mountain View and Olds School Division No. 39 were made "coterminous" (meaning they shared the same boundaries). With the introduction of the County system of government in 1961, joint administration of municipalities and the school boards was initiated, and would continue until 1994. Accompanying this change, the Municipal District of Mountain View No. 49 was formed into the County of Mountain View No. 17 as of Jan. 1, 1961, with William J. Bagnall of Dogpound was selected as the County's first Reeve. A municipal councillor prior to the County’s formation, Bagnall would continue to serve as Reeve until 1980.
The newly-formed County chose Didsbury as the seat of government, and in Oct. 1962, a new administration building was opened to house both the County administration and the school board. This building would serve the County until a new state-of-the-art office was erected on Hwy. 2A between Olds and Didsbury in 2005.
On Jan 21, 1998 the County of Mountain View No. 17 officially changed its name to Mountain View County, as it continues to be known today.
Communities
The following communities are located in Mountain View County:[5]
Towns
Villages
Communities
- Bearberry
- Bergen
- Dogpound
- Eagle Hill
- Elkton
- Garfield
- Mayton
- Neapolis
- Stirlingville
- Water Valley
- Wessex
- Westcott
- Westward Ho
Rural Neighbourhoods
In 2008, Mountain View County established 20 districts known as Rural Neighborhoods.
- Bearberry / Coalcamp
- Bergen
- Dogpound
- Eagle Hill / Westward Ho
- Elkton / Rugby
- Fallentimber
- Hainstock
- Harmattan
- Jackson
- James River
- Lonepine
- McDougal Flats
- Midway
- Netook
- Reed Ranch
- Rosebud
- Water Valley / Winchell Lake
- Wessex
- Westcott
- Westerdale
References
- ^ Mountain View County. "Council Members". http://www.mountainviewcounty.com/members.html. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
- ^ a b Statistics Canada (Census 2006). "Mountain View County - Community Profile". http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=4806028&Geo2=PR&Code2=48&Data=Count&SearchText=Mountain%20View%20County&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&GeoLevel=&GeoCode=4806028. Retrieved 2007-06-11.
- ^ Alberta Municipal Affairs. "Alberta 2009 Official Population List". http://www.municipalaffairs.alberta.ca/documents/ms/2009pop.pdf. Retrieved 2009-12-11.
- ^ Mountain View County community profile - Statistics Canada. 2002. 2001 Community Profiles. Released June 27, 2002. Last modified: 2005-11-30. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 93F0053XIE
- ^ Alberta Municipal Affairs. Municipal Profile
External links
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