Magrath is a town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 in Cardston County

Cardston County, Alberta

Cardston County is a municipal district in southern Alberta, Canada. It is located in Census Division 3 around the Town of Cardston.The municipal district was established on January 1, 1954, through the amalgamation of the Municipal District of Sugar City No. 5 and part of the Municipal District of...

, Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. Its 2006 population was 2,081. Magrath is located near the Canadian Rockies

Canadian Rockies

The Canadian Rockies comprise the Canadian segment of the North American Rocky Mountains range. They are the eastern part of the Canadian Cordillera, extending from the Interior Plains of Alberta to the Rocky Mountain Trench of British Columbia. The southern end borders Idaho and Montana of the USA...

 and is 32 km (19.9 mi) south of Lethbridge

Lethbridge

Lethbridge is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada, and the largest city in southern Alberta. It is Alberta's fourth-largest city by population after Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer, and the third-largest by area after Calgary and Edmonton. The nearby Canadian Rockies contribute to the city's...

 and 242 km (150.4 mi) south of Calgary

Calgary

Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...

.

History

Magrath was established in 1899 by settlers sent by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 and Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

. These Mormon

Mormon

The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...

 settlers were recruited by the Alberta Railway and Irrigation Company to construct irrigation

Irrigation

Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...

 works in the area. The settlers were paid in cash and land in the town. This was the first major irrigation work in Canada and was made possible by the settlers' experience with the extensive irrigation projects undertaken by their church in Utah and Idaho. The area's irrigation canal system supplies water to local farmers.

Magrath is named after Charles Alexander Magrath

Charles Alexander Magrath

Charles Alexander Magrath conducted foundation surveys of the Northwest Territories from 1878 until 1885. He joined Sir Alexander Tilloch Galt and Elliot Torrance Galt in their western industrial enterprises as a surveyor, later becoming Elliott's assistant and Land Commissioner of the North...

. Magrath post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

 was established 1 March 1900, with Ammon Mercer as first postmaster.

Demographics

The population of the Town of Magrath according to its 2010 municipal census is 2,302, a 2.1% increase over its 2008 municipal census population of 2,254.

In 2006, Magrath had a population of 2,081 living in 679 dwellings

House

A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

, a 4.4% increase from 2001. The town has a land area of 4.97 km² (1.9 sq mi) and a population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 of 418.8 /km2.

Religious affiliation

The following is a breakdown of Magrath's population by religious affiliation from the 2001 federal census

Canada 2001 Census

The Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...

.

• Protestant: 84%
• Catholic: 4%
• No religious affiliation: 11%
• Christian Orthodox: <1%
• Christian (unspecified denomination): <1%

The Protestant grouping above includes the Latter-day Saints (Mormon) denominations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Reorganized Church of Latter-day Saints, as well as 43 other Protestant denominations.

There are six wards (Latter-day Saint congregations) within the Magrath area.

Attractions and landmarks

• Buffalo Bin Elevator - Magrath, the first of five ever built in the Province. The "Buffalo Bin" style grain elevator
  Grain elevator
  A grain elevator is a tower containing a bucket elevator, which scoops up, elevates, and then uses gravity to deposit grain in a silo or other storage facility...
  
   was built as an experiential elevator for Alberta Wheat Pool
  Alberta Wheat Pool
  The Alberta Wheat Pool was the first of Canada's wheat farmer co-operatives.-Early years:In 1923, the United Farmers of Alberta met with then Attorney General John Edward Brownlee to consider setting up a Wheat Pool just in Alberta...
  
   in the 1970-1980s, today only three of the original buffalo bins remain. The others still standing are Foremost
  Foremost, Alberta
  - See also :* List of communities in Alberta* List of villages in Alberta* Foremost Formation* Foremost Airport- External links :* * AlbertaFirst....
  
   and Fort Saskatchewan
  Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
  Fort Saskatchewan is a city in Alberta, Canada, located northeast of downtown Edmonton, Alberta's capital city, along the North Saskatchewan River. Fort Saskatchewan is part of the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area and is one of 24 municipalities on the Capital Region Board...
  
  .
• Harker House
  Harker House
  The Harker House is a historic home located in Magrath. The house was originally built in 1907 for Bank of Montreal managers and is known as the Harker House located at 79 West Harker Avenue...
  
  , currently under threat of being demolished due to a recent fire in November 2009.
• Galt Irrigation Canal, first major irrigation project in Canada, a National Historic Site of Canada.
• Galt Canal Nature Trail
• Magrath Golf club
• Magrath Skateboard Park
• Magrath Wind farm

External links

• Town of Magrath