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Fort Macleod is a town in the southwest of the province of Alberta, Canada. It is named in honour of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Colonel James Macleod. The town is located in the Municipal District of Willow Creek, at the intersection of Highway 2 and Highway 3, on the Oldman River. It lies west of the larger community of Lethbridge, near the reserves of the Peigan and Kainah First Nations. It is also located close to the Waterton Lakes National Park. The town is located 8 kilometres north of the largest wind farm in Canada, the McBride Lake Wind Farm. The wind farm has a capacity of 75 megawatts of electricity. In 2001, Fort Macleod had a population of 2,990, 1.5% decrease from 1996. Fort Macleod is notable as the birthplace of folk singer Joni Mitchell.
History The town grew on the location of the Fort Macleod North West Mounted Police Barracks, the first outpost of the North West Mounted Police in Western Canada, established in 1874 on an island on the Oldman River, than moved in 1884 on the actual town location. The Museum of the North West Mounted Police is located in Fort Macleod. Heritage Canada started a Main Street Restoration Project in 1982, aiming to preserve the sandstone and brick buildings, some dating back to 1878. Sports The town is home to the Fort Macleod Mustangs, a provincial hockey team. Media Film location The movie Brokeback Mountain was filmed in part in Fort Macleod. | ||||||||
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