The Drumheller Valley is located in a unique area of central Alberta described as badlands (likely from the French, terres mauvaises). It is an area where wind and water erosion have shaped the landscape to create winding gullies and outcroppings of rock known as hoodoos. The area began as a ranching community in 1897. The coming of the railroads meant that coal mines had to be located strategically close to rail lines. For the Drumheller Valley, it was the building of the Canadian Northern Railway branch line to the Drumheller Valley that started the development of the region. In 1910, Col. Samuel Drumheller bought the townsite just before the economy of the region took off.
As with the other mining areas of the province (including Edmonton region, the Rockies, Nordegg, the Coal Branch and Lethbridge/Coalhurst) immigrants from Italy, as well as those already in eastern Canada and the US, were attracted by plentiful work.
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