Heritage Community Foundation Presents
Alberta Online Encyclopedia


About Us

The Project

In order to address the needs of formal and life-long learners for online resources that provide a range of information about Alberta, the Heritage Community Foundation in partnership with the Friends of Geographical Names of Alberta developed the Place Names of Alberta: The Land, the People and their Stories Website. This state-of-the-art multimedia website includes text, images, audio, maps and other resources that explore the history of place naming in Alberta as well as the range of information about names of communities, geographical features and special areas.

The site features a searchable database that makes available all of the information in the resource books created by the Geographical Place Names Program of Alberta Culture and Community Spirit (Place Names of Alberta 4-volume series and the Concise Place Names of Alberta) making them accessible to all Albertans, Canadians and users of the World Wide Web.

Heritage Community Foundation

The Heritage Community Foundation is a charitable Trust (Charitable Number: 87082 2541 RR0001) committed to connecting people with heritage. As a new kind of community foundation, it is not bounded by geography but based on interest in the value of heritage for individuals, their communities and society.

The Foundation has received recognition for its state-of-the-art programs involving new technology and experiential learning. Working collaboratively with public and private-sector partners, the Foundation seeks support not only for its own flagship programs but also for those of partners and stakeholders at the local, regional, provincial and national levels.

The Foundation's goal is for heritage to be valued by everyone. Heritage is broadly defined in all its aspects-historical, natural, cultural, scientific and technological. The Foundation exists:

  • To be a strong public voice for heritage
  • To build individual and community identity and pride through research, public education and youth programs
  • To build resources to sustain heritage institutions, organizations and related projects and activities.

The Heritage Community Foundation has the following primary areas of interest based on its charitable objects: Educational Resource Creation, Research, Digital Technology and Experiential Learning. All programs link people with place, stories, objects, landscapes, traditions-all of those aspects that define us as individuals and communities.

Friends of Geographical Names of Alberta

The Friends of Geographical Names of Alberta is a registered, non-profit organization, formed in 1987 to promote awareness of Alberta's place names, and encourage interest in its heritage through toponymic study. The Society works closely with the Alberta Geographical Names Program and serves educational and outreach functions.

The Society has excelled in educational program development as well as research projects. An example of the former is the Namedropper Initiative and of the latter, the Native Mapping Project.

The society also supports toponymic research and the services of the Geographical Names Program of Alberta Culture and Community Spirit..

Alberta Historical Resources Foundation

The Friends of Geographical Names of Alberta Society gratefully acknowledges the funding support of the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation, Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, for this project.


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            For more on place names of Alberta, visit Peel’s Prairie Provinces.

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