Three Hills is a town located in the southern part of the province 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...

. It is so named because of the three highly visible hills that are situated to its north.

History

Three Hills was incorporated as a village in 1912, the year it was moved to its current location on the Canadian Northern Railway

Canadian Northern Railway

The Canadian Northern Railway is a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its demise in 1923, when it was merged into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton.-Manitoba beginnings:CNoR had its start in...

. With ranchers and farmers constituting its first residents, it soon became a centre for the surrounding wheat

Wheat

Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...

-growing area.

In 1922, the Prairie Bible Institute was established in Three Hills with L.E. Maxwell as its founding principal. This occurrence helped to increase the population of the town proper and its adjacent settlements. By the mid 1980s the nearby hamlets of Grantville and Ruarkville and the spacious 130 acre (0.5260918 km²) Bible College campus were annexed to the town.

Although a relatively small community, Three Hills had the distinction of hosting the Alberta Seniors Games in the summer of 1998. The town was chosen to host this event because of its ability to utilize large and well equipped facilities at the college. This included the opening and closing ceremonies which took place in the 4,300 seat Maxwell Memorial Tabernacle, located on the Bible College

Bible college

Bible colleges are institutions of higher education that specialize in biblical studies. Curriculum is Bible-based and differs from that of liberal arts colleges or research universities. Bible colleges generally exclude the study of philosophy, unlike seminaries and theological colleges...

 campus.

The Maxwell Tabernacle was Canada's largest religious auditorium before it was demolished in 2005. It operated from 1954 to 2005 as a local church, concert hall, and graduation auditorium for Prairie Bible Institute and Three Hills School high school classes.

Because of development regarding the nearby methane fields, the food and lodging industries in Three Hills have grown considerably over the past few years.

Demographics

The population of the Town of Three Hills according to its 2008 municipal census is 3,322.

In 2006, Three Hills had a population of 3,089 living in 1,184 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 6.4% increase from 2001. The town has a land area of 5.63 km² (2.2 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 548.4 /km2.

Notable residents

• Boxer Willie DeWitt won the silver medal in boxing as a heavyweight at the 1984 Olympics
  1984 Summer Olympics
  The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
  
  .
• Actress Erica Durance
  Erica Durance
  Erica Durance is a Canadian actress. She has also been credited as Erica Parker. She is best known for her role as Lois Lane in the Superman-inspired television series Smallville.- Early life :...
  
  , known for her role as Lois Lane
  Lois Lane
  Lois Lane is a fictional character, the primary love interest of Superman in the comic books of DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in Action Comics #1 ....
  
   on the hit WB Network TV show Smallville
  Smallville (TV series)
  Smallville is an American television series developed by writers/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar based on the DC Comics character Superman, originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. The television series was initially broadcast by The WB Television Network , premiering on October...
  
  is a former resident.
• Best-selling author and humorist Phil Callaway
  Phil Callaway
  Phil Callaway, who has achieved notoriety for his humorous writing and speaking, was born July 26, 1961 in Three Hills, Alberta, Canada. He has written more than 2 dozen books of family humor, children's literature, and novels, as well as hundreds of magazine articles...
  
   was born in and still resides in Three Hills.
• Singer Paul Janz
  Paul Janz
  Paul Janz is a Canadian theologian, and formerly a prominent singer-songwriter of pop rock music in the mainstream and contemporary Christian markets...
  
   who had a string of popular hits in Canada between 1985–1993

External links

• Town of Three Hills