Rambling around Fort Macleod, Alberta

Fort Macleod is located in southwestern Alberta near the western edge of Canada’s vast prairies, beside the Oldman River. The Rocky Mountains are distant but visible from Fort Macleod, which is home to about 3000 people.

Fort Macleod was founded as an outpost of the North-West Mounted Police (precursor of the RCMP) in 1874. It is named in honor of Colonel James Macleod, Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) detachment. The town still has the Fort Museum which is interesting to visit and shares the history of the North-West Mounted Police in this region, and which is a popular tourist attraction.

Fort Museum is an important attraction in Fort Macleod.

I’ve visited Fort Macleod several times during the years I lived in Alberta. My goal on this visit was to explore the historic town which is located close to the Fort Museum.

A Brief History of Fort Macleod

After the NWMP Fort was established in the late 19th century, a small but thriving community developed nearby which grew and flourished in the early years. The town became an important agriculture center and was on a busy rail line. In the early 20th century a large fire destroyed many of the wooden buildings in downtown, and what we visit today are the sandstone and brick buildings constructed to replace them. A major blow to the community was relocation of the railway, resulting in the town declaring bankruptcy in 1924.

Fort Macleod stagnated for many decades. In the 1970s, an appreciation for the historic buildings in downtown resulted in restoration of this section, and it being declared an Alberta “Provincial Historic Area” in 1982. The town has since developed a tourism industry, in addition to its strong agricultural base.

Fort Macleod has become a notable filming location, having been used in Brokeback Mountain, Interstellar, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and most recently the Netflix TV series The Last of Us.

One of the marque buildings in town is the Empress Theater, which opened in 1912. It still hosts movies, music, plays, private events and so on.

Fort MacLeod is also near Head Smashed in Buffalo Jump (A UNESCO site), and several Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (also UNESCO sites).

What follows are some photos taken of my rambling around charming downtown area of Fort Macleod:

Holy Cross Catholic Church, Fort Macleod

Nicely preserved wooden grain elevator, Fort Macleod

The town has a separate section in its cemetery for deceased officers of the NWMP and RCMP. The cemetery is not in the historic downtown, but I thought it was worth a visit.