Swan Hills is a town in

northern Alberta Northern Alberta is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the ce ...

, Canada. It is in the eponymous Swan Hills, approximately north of Whitecourt and northwest of Fort Assiniboine. The town is at the junction of

Highway 32 The following highways are numbered 32: International * Asian Highway 32 * European route E32 Australia * Great Western Highway * Barrier Highway * East Derwent Highway * Mitchell Highway Canada * Alberta Highway 32 * Manitoba Highway 32 ...

and Grizzly Trail, and is surrounded by

Big Lakes County Big Lakes County, formerly the Municipal District of Big Lakes, is a municipal district in north-central Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 17, around the Lesser Slave Lake. Utikuma Lake and Winagami Lake are also located in ...

. It is the nearest major settlement to the geographic centre of the province. In 1989, local resident Roy Chimiuk used a minimum bounding box method to place a cairn marking the exact location at , about 30 kilometres south of the town. The site is protected by the Centre of Alberta Natural Area, a 3-kilometre hike from Highway 33.

History

Initially a base camp for workers in the Swan Hills oilfield, accommodations and facilities were moved from a nearby site and jointly developed in the present location by the government of Alberta and oil companies between 1959-1961. Casually nicknamed 'Oil Hills', the town's official name was taken from the area of densely forested uplands in which it is located, although 'Chalmers' was also considered, after T.W. Chalmers, who had surveyed and cut the Klondike Trail through the area. The

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

of Swan Hills was incorporated on September 1, 1959 and R.L. Maxfield was appointed as Development Officer and Secretary Treasurer. Twenty-four parcels of industrial land were sold at the first land auction in November 1959. The first all-weather road into the area was completed in 1960, replacing the treacherous forestry road connecting Swan Hills to Fort Assiniboine; the Swan Hills Post Office was opened the same year. The New Town of Swan Hills was officially opened by Premier

Ernest Manning Ernest Charles Manning, (September 20, 1908 – February 19, 1996), a Canadian politician, was the eighth Premier of Alberta between 1943 and 1968 for the Social Credit Party of Alberta. He served longer than any other premier in Alberta's histo ...

in June 1962. Two teachers provided instruction for forty students in the first two-room school, which was quickly replaced by a seven-room building due to the rapidly increasing population as oil field workers began to relocate their families to the town. Two mobile radio units provided communications and an isolated diesel generating plant provided power until

Alberta Government Telephones Alberta Government Telephones (AGT) was the telephone provider in most of Alberta from 1906 to 1991. AGT was formed by the Liberal government of Alexander Cameron Rutherford in 1906Wilson, Kevin G., Deregulating Telecommunications: U.S. and C ...

installed service and

Canadian Utilities Canadian Utilities Limited is a member of the ATCO Group of companies. Canadian Utilities Limited is a Canada-based worldwide organization of companies with assets of approximately $7.3 billion and more than 6,500 employees in three main business ...

Ltd. completed an transmission line in 1960. In November 1965, Swan Hills became the most northerly town in Alberta to be served with natural gas by Northwestern Utilities. Swan Hills' status was changed when it was formally incorporated as a town on January 1, 1967 making it the first town incorporated during Canada's centennial year. Tom Parkinson was elected the first mayor, serving in the position until 1971. Situated within dense

boreal Boreal may refer to: Climatology and geography *Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch *Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...

forest, Swan Hills has been evacuated at least five times as wildfires threatened the town: 1972, 1981 and 1983, and twice in May 1998, when the Virginia Hills Fire, came close. The town has since implemented a FireSmart program, reducing fire fuel within and around the urban perimeter.

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Swan Hills had a population of 1,201 living in 512 of its 728 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,301. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Swan Hills recorded a population of 1,301 living in 535 of its 724 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 1,465. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Economy

The primary industry in Swan Hills is oil and gas, although th
Swan Hills Treatment Centre
north of the town, is also a local employer. It is also a service centre for the logging industry.

Attractions

Swan Hills' wilderness setting makes it a popular year-round destination for nature enthusiasts and outdoor sports including

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more natu ...

hunting Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/ tusks, horn/ a ...

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques ...

trapping Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

and

ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television stations and companies * Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourne * ATV (Austria) * AT ...

riding. Annual Events * Snowmobiling: Swan Hills is one of the three points o
The Golden Triangle
a groomed

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

trail. A large number of people visit town for the annua
Swan Hills Snow Goers
snowmobile rally. * Motocross: The Swan Hills Dirt riders host an annual

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

meet. * Target Shooting: Swan Hills Outdoor Recreation Club hosts an annual skeet-shooting competition at the gun range * Golfing: The 9-hole Swan Hills

Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

and Country Club, south of town is open from mid-April to mid-October, depending on snowfall and hosts several annual tournaments. * Curling: In the winter there are several annual

bonspiel A bonspiel is a curling tournament, consisting of several games, often held on a weekend. Until the 20th century most bonspiels were held outdoors, on a frozen freshwater loch. Today almost all bonspiels are held indoors on specially prepared a ...

s hosted by the Swan Hills

Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

Cub. * Hockey: In the winter there are several tournaments hosted by Swan Hills Minor

Hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

Education

Kindergarten to Grade 12 students are served by Swan Hills Schoolbr>
in the Pembina Hills Public Schools district.

Health Services

Emergency and other medical services are provided at th
Swan Hills Healthcare Centre
Family and community social programs and services are available through FCSS (Family & Community Support Services) 780-333-4119

Government

Local affairs in Swan Hills are managed by a

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

and

town council A town council, city council or municipal council is a form of local government for small municipalities. Usage of the term varies under different jurisdictions. Republic of Ireland Town Councils in the Republic of Ireland were the second t ...

under

Alberta Municipal Affairs Alberta Municipal Affairs is a ministry of the Executive Council of Alberta. Its major responsibilities include assisting municipalities in the provision of local government, administering the assessment of linear property in Alberta, administerin ...

. Swan Hills is located in the provincial riding of

Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock Barrhead-Morinville-Westlock was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 2004 to 2019. The Barrhead-Morin ...

. Federally, the town is in the constituency of

Peace River-Westlock Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

Notable people

* Evan Williams, actor and musician * Leland Irving, professional hockey player

Nearby

* Goose Mountain Ecological Reserve * E.S. Huestis Demonstration Forest * Trapper Lea's Cabin * Centre of Alberta Natural Area *

Swan Hills Airport Swan Hills Airport is located south of Swan Hills, Alberta, Canada. References External linksPlace to Flyon COPA's ''Places to Fly'' airport directory Registered aerodromes in Alberta Big Lakes County {{Alberta-airport-stub ...

References

External links

* {{Alberta Regions Upper Athabasca 1959 establishments in Alberta Big Lakes County Towns in Alberta Former new towns in Alberta