Okotoks Community Overview
Okotoks is a town situated on the Sheep River, 18 kilometers (11 mi) south of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The town is a member of the Calgary Regional Partnership, a cooperative of communities within Greater Calgary. Okotoks has become a popular bedroom community for the city of Calgary. According to the 2006 Census, the town's population has grown by 46% since 2001.
The town celebrated its centennial in 2004.
The town's name is derived from "o'kotok", the Blackfoot First Nation word for "Big Rock", but is also often simply known as "Rock City". The rock being referred to is the world's largest known glacial erratic which is situated about 8 km west of the town.
Before European settlement, journeying First Nations used the rock as a marker to find the river crossing situated at Okotoks. The tribes were nomadic and often followed large buffalo herds for their sustenance. David Thompson explored the area as early as 1800. Soon trading posts sprang up, including one established in 1874 at the Sheep River crossing on the current Okotoks townsite. This crossing was on a trade route called the Macleod Trail, which led from Fort Benton, Montana to Calgary.
In 1879, the area saw the killing of the last buffalo. Government leasing of land for one cent per acre ($2.47/km²) began in 1880. This created a major change in the region.
The last stagecoach stopped in Okotoks in 1891 when rail service between Calgary and Fort Macleod replaced horse-drawn travel. By 1897 the community name had changed three times: from Sheep Creek to Dewdney to Okotoks, assigned by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The rail line is still a main line south to the U.S. border, but the last of the passenger service (Dayliner unit) ended in 1971.
Okotoks, like much of southern Alberta, suffered major flooding in June 2005. Virtually all regions adjacent to the Sheep River, including the central business district, were at least briefly flooded, with the most serious damage being inflicted to riverside pathways, parks and campgrounds.
However, one decade prior to the June 2005 flood, Okotoks and the surrounding area suffered a massive flood in 1995.
In 2007, the energy efficient Drake Landing Solar Community was opened in Okotoks.
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