Welcome to Westlock, Alberta, Canada
Your Westlock (Thorhill, Legal, Barhead, Jarvie, Busby)
area contact is Bill Curtis (REMAX Results.) Please refer to the "Relocating to Westlock" section to the right for
the phone number, address, website, and email address to contact Bill Curtis directly.
Ask about the RE/MAX MLS homes for sale including residential houses, apartments, condos, duplexes, acreages and farms.
Westlock summary
Westlock is a town in central Alberta located 85 kilometers (53 mi) north-northwest of Edmonton at the junction of Highway 44 and Highway 18. It is
surrounded by Westlock County within Census Division 13.
REMAX MLS real estate homes for sale including
residential houses, apartments, condos, duplexes, acreages and
farms.
Prior to European settlement, the area around Westlock was inhabited by First Nations people, notably the Cree. Although the fur trade had been active
in Alberta since 1754 when Anthony Henday explored the area, the Westlock district was not mentioned in writing until David Thompson came through in April, 1799.
REMAX MLS real estate homes for sale including
residential houses, apartments, condos, duplexes, acreages and
farms.
White settlement did not begin until 1902 at that time centred around a rural community about 3 miles east of present-day Westlock. The founder's name was
Edgson, but this was considered too hard to pronounce. Edson, Alberta already existed, so the site was called Edison by its Irish - American founders after
Thomas Edison the American inventor. The E.D. & B.C. Railway (later the Northern Alberta Railway, now part of CN) chose to build its nearest siding 3 miles
to the west in modern day Westlock, and that is where development shifted.
The townsite was mapped in 1912. Its name came from a combination of two men: William Westgate and William Lockhart who owned the property.
Westlock became a village in 1916 the first reeve was George MacTavish, that same year the first grain elevator was built, the first bank branch, the
Merchant's Bank on the Sunday after Armistice, November 11th, 1918. A permanent brick schoolhouse was built in 1925. The Sisters of Charity of St.
Vincent de Paul of Halifax operated a hopital out of a former house in 1927, and a hopital, the Immaculata, was opened in 1928.
Westlock became a town on January 7, 1947. That same year, the Memorial Hall was also built.
REMAX MLS real estate homes for sale including
residential houses, apartments, condos, duplexes, acreages and
farms.
The area around Westlock is primarily agricultural, although there is some oil and gas activity. The main employers in town include the hotels and inns
that cater to oilpatch workers, the farm implement dealerships, and some small manufacturing such as Lehman Trikes, Truck Bodies & Trailers, and a Lafarge
cement plant. Additionally, Westlock still retains its original purpose as a centre for the grain trade, as CN still accepts grains from the remaining grain
elevators. Also, Westlock is a centre of government as seat of Westlock County and home of a public (Richard F. Staples Secondary School) and Catholic high
school (St. Mary School), a courthouse, and a very modern hospital (unusual for a small town in Alberta). As such Westlock is the central town of the region
for rural families to do business in, send their children to school in, and to obtain government services in. Many rural people also retire in town, and
there are several old age homes. REMAX MLS real estate homes for
sale including residential houses, apartments, condos, duplexes,
acreages and farms.
Westlock is generally too far from Edmonton to serve as a bedroom community but some people do commute. Of increasing importantance to the community since
the Second World War has been highway traffic heading to oilfields in Northern Alberta. Recent retail developments have shifted from the railway era downtown
to larger stores along the highway. One recent proposal was for a residential development adjoining Westlock Airport which would allow people to commute to
the oilsand projects in Fort McMurray and other northern developments, but this has not been started as yet.
Text & photo credits
The text contained in 'Westlock Summary' above is courtesy of Wikipedia.com.
The article ('Westlock Summary') is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License
(See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.)
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Westlock, Alberta".
The Westlock header image on this page is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Reference:
Header.