Wildwood, Alberta Explained

Wildwood
Nickname:A Place For All Seasons
Settlement Type:Hamlet
Pushpin Map:Canada Alberta
Pushpin Label Position:none
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Wildwood in Alberta
Pushpin Mapsize:220
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Canada
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Alberta
Subdivision Type2:Region
Subdivision Name2:Central Alberta
Subdivision Type3:Census Division
Subdivision Name3:No. 14
Subdivision Type4:Municipal district
Subdivision Name4:Yellowhead County
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Title1:Governing body
Area Footnotes: (2021)
Area Land Km2:0.54
Population As Of:2021
Population Total:257
Population Density Km2:476.1
Timezone:MST
Utc Offset:−7
Timezone Dst:MDT
Utc Offset Dst:−6
Coordinates:53.6094°N -115.2375°W
Elevation M:778
Postal Code Type:Postal code span
Postal Code:T0E 2M0
Blank Name:Highways
Blank Info:Yellowhead Highway
Cowboy Trail
Blank1 Name:Waterways
Blank1 Info:Lobstick River
Website:Yellowhead County

Wildwood is a hamlet in west-central Alberta, Canada within Yellowhead County. It is on the Yellowhead Highway (Highway 16), approximately 112km (70miles) west of Edmonton and 82km (51miles) east of Edson. The Yellowhead Highway's intersection with Cowboy Trail (Highway 22) is 9km (06miles) east of the hamlet. The Lobstick River, which flows from Chip Lake to the west, runs through the hamlet.

Statistics Canada recognizes Wildwood as a designated place.

Farming and ranching are an important part of Wildwood's economy. The Wildwood and District Agricultural Society was organized in 1939 and holds an Agricultural Fair every August.

History

Originally named Junkins, Wildwood was established in 1908 by a group of 20 African-American immigrants as a block settlement.[1] The new Black Canadian homesteaders arrived from Oklahoma and Texas, just three years after Alberta became a province in 1905.[2] The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway arrived in Junkins in 1908. People arriving at "end of steel" transferred their goods to wagons and travelled to their homesteads.[3]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Wildwood had a population of 257 living in 118 of its 136 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 273. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.[4]

As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Wildwood had a population of 273 living in 139 of its 157 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 294. With a land area of 0.54km2, it had a population density of in 2016.[5]

See also

References

53.6094°N -115.2375°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Heritage Community Foundation and Black Pioneers Descendants' Society . Alberta's Black Pioneer Heritage - Junkins . Heritage Community Foundation and Black Pioneers Descendants' Society . 2007 . 2008-07-09.
  2. Web site: African American Immigration to Alberta . Rowe . Allan . Historic Resources Management Branch . . 2015-02-12 . 2017-02-06.
  3. Book: Lac Ste. Anne Historical Society. Archives Committee.. West of the Fifth: a history of Lac Ste Anne Municipality.. The Institute of Applied Art Ltd.. 1959. Edmonton, CA. 35.
  4. Web site: Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places . . February 9, 2022 . February 10, 2022.
  5. Web site: Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta) . . February 8, 2017 . February 13, 2017.