Heritage Community Foundation Presents
Alberta Online Encyclopedia

West Central Alberta

The West Central Alberta Real Estate Board, headquartered in Edson, Alberta, governs a large region encompassing the settlements of Hinton, Grande Cache, Jasper, Banff, Canmore, and others. West Central Alberta has a unique economy centering on the forestry, mineral, oil, and tourism industries. The settlements within these areas owe their existence to the railways, both the Canadian Pacific Railway line to the south, and the Canadian Northern and Grand Trunk Pacific lines to the north, which were amalgamated as the Canadian National Railway. Along these lines, passing through muskeg and the Rocky Mountains, parkland towns such as Jasper and Banff were created, as well as the coal and forestry towns of Edson, Hinton, Grande Cache, Bankhead, and Canmore.

The following articles are a summarative history of the economic development and the historical buildings of these settlements, with a focus on Edson and Hinton.

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