Jasper Place Explained

Official Name:Jasper Place
Other Name:West Jasper Place (1910–1950)
Settlement Type:Area (former town)
Pushpin Map:Canada Edmonton#Alberta
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Jasper Place in Edmonton
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Canada
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Alberta
Subdivision Type2:City
Subdivision Name2:Edmonton
Subdivision Type3:Quadrant[1]
Subdivision Name3:NW
Subdivision Type4:Ward
Subdivision Name4:Nakota Isga, Anirniq, sipiwiyiniwak
Subdivision Type5:Sector[2]
Subdivision Name5:Mature area
Government Footnotes:[3]
Leader Title:Administrative body
Leader Name:Edmonton City Council
Established Title:Founded[4]
Established Date:1910
Established Title2:Village[5]
Name change[6]
Town[7]
Established Date2:December 31, 1949
March 15, 1950
November 6, 1950
Established Title3:Annexation[8]
Established Date3:August 17, 1964
Coordinates:53.5408°N -113.5919°W
Elevation M:674
Timezone:MST
Utc Offset:−07:00
Timezone Dst:MDT
Utc Offset Dst:−06:00

Jasper Place, originally named West Jasper Place, is a former town in Alberta, Canada now within the City of Edmonton. Prior to amalgamation with Edmonton, the town was bounded by 149 Street to the east, 118 Avenue to the north, 170 Street to the west and the North Saskatchewan River to the south. Its former municipal centre, which included its town hall, fire station and extant Butler Memorial Park, was located at Stony Plain Road and 157 Street. It was known as West Jasper Place from 1910 to 1950.[4]

History

West Jasper Place was subdivided in approximately 1910.[4] In its early days, the community was home to a few hundred homesteaders, who lived a meagre life raising a few animals and tending gardens. Houses lacked the amenities of modern life, including electricity, flush toilets, and running water. Water was trucked out to residents at a cost of $1.25 per 500 gallons.[9]

During the 1930s, the population grew as many Edmontonians moved out to Jasper Place to escape high taxes in the city. Many residents worked in Edmonton, and by the 1940s the trolley line extended to the modern 149 Street, close enough to Jasper Place to allow returning workers to walk the rest of the way home.

Following the Second World War and the discovery of oil near Leduc in 1947, the population of Edmonton swelled and West Jasper Place absorbed some of that population growth. By 1948 it was the largest hamlet in Alberta, with a population of 4,000.[9] It incorporated as the Village of West Jasper Place on December 31, 1949,[5] and its name was shortened to Jasper Place a few months later on March 15, 1950.[6] Jasper Place instantly became the largest village in Alberta, with a population of 8,900, more than a doubling of the community in just two years. Village status only lasted a few months as the community was incorporated as the Town of Jasper Place on November 6, 1950.[7]

In the early 1960s, to accommodate continuing growth, Jasper Place expanded several schools, including Jasper Place Composite High School, began construction of a sports centre (football bowl, indoor swimming pool, indoor ice hockey arena),[10] and commenced planning the original Meadowlark Park Shopping Centre. Projects such as these placed the town deeply in debt and, with little industrial base, an increasing demand for services by the growing population, the province refusing to grant extra funds, and the large City of Edmonton already touching the town's boundary along the east side of 149 Street, Jasper Place's independence as its own municipality was at risk.

In 1962, the Jasper Place Town Council moved to amalgamate into Edmonton, with a plebiscite held on October 17, 1962, in which a majority of residents voted in favour of amalgamation.[11] Amalgamation occurred on August 17, 1964. "With amalgamation, the City of Edmonton assumed Jasper Place's bonded indebtedness of $8.177 million (equivalent to $ million in), the town's infrastructure and responsibility for all public services such as sewer, water and transportation."[11] At amalgamation, Jasper Place was the largest town in Canada, with a population of 37,429  - having grown nearly 950% from when it was a hamlet in 1948.[11]

Demographics

NeighbourhoodPopulation
(2012)[12]
Population
(2009)[13]
Change (%)DwellingsArea (km2)[14] Density
(people/km2)
Alberta Park Industrial
Garside Industrial
High Park Industrial
Norwester Industrial
Sheffield Industrial
West Sheffield Industrial
Youngstown Industrial
Total Jasper Place

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: City of Edmonton Wards & Standard Neighbourhoods. City of Edmonton. February 13, 2013. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140503100206/http://www.edmonton.ca/business_economy/documents/EdmontonWardNeighbourhoods.pdf. May 3, 2014.
  2. Web site: Edmonton Developing and Planned Neighbourhoods, 2011. City of Edmonton. February 13, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130904040707/http://www.edmonton.ca/business_economy/documents/PDF/Developing_and_Planned_Neighbourhoods_2011_-_Final_Report.pdf. September 4, 2013.
  3. Web site: City Councillors. City of Edmonton. February 13, 2013.
  4. Book: Naming Edmonton: From Ada to Zoie. registration. incorporation village of west jasper place.. Merrily K. Aubrey. The University of Alberta Press. Edmonton. 335. 2004. February 25, 2013. 9780888644237.
  5. Book: The Alberta Gazette. 46. Government of Alberta. January 14, 1950. 89 - 90.
  6. Book: The Alberta Gazette. 46. Government of Alberta. March 15, 1950. 359. That on and from the date this order is published in The Alberta Gazette, the Village of West Jasper Place shall be known and designated as the Village of Jasper Place..
  7. Book: The Alberta Gazette. 46. Government of Alberta. November 15, 1950. 1555 - 1556.
  8. Web site: Census History. City of Edmonton. February 24, 2013. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303210007/http://www.edmonton.ca/city_government/municipal_census/census-history.aspx. March 3, 2016.
  9. News: The Early Days of Jasper Place. Lawrence Herzog. Real Estate Weekly. yegishome.ca. 2002-09-26. 2014-10-17. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141103092448/http://yegishome.ca/news/2002/09/26/the-early-days-of-jasper-place. 2014-11-03.
  10. Web site: Johnny Bright Sports Park . City of Edmonton . 2014-10-17.
  11. News: When Jasper Place Joined Edmonton . Lawrence Herzog . Real Estate Weekly . yegishome.ca . 2002-10-03 . 2014-10-17 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141103092556/http://yegishome.ca/news/2002/10/03/when-jasper-place-joined-edmonton . 2014-11-03 .
  12. Web site: Municipal Census Results – Edmonton 2012 Census . City of Edmonton . February 26, 2013.
  13. Web site: 2009 Municipal Census Results . City of Edmonton . February 26, 2013.
  14. Web site: Neighbourhoods (data plus kml file) . City of Edmonton . February 26, 2013.