Rimbey, Alberta

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Rimbey, Alberta, Canada
Motto: The friendly International town.
Rimbey, Alberta, Canada.
Rimbey, Alberta, Canada.

Census division No. 8
County Ponoka
Area: 10.97 km²
Founded 1902
Incorporated  
Population

Town Population


23,160 (2007)
Population density 197/km²
Time zone Mountain: UTC -7
Postal code span T0C 2J0
Latitude

Longitude

52°38′25.44″ N
114°14′2.4000″ W
Elevation 930 m MSL
Highways Highway 20
Highway 53
Waterways Gull Lake
Mayor Dale Barr
Governing body Rimbey Town Council

Town of Rimbey website

1(sc) According to the Canada 2001 Census. {{Canadian City/Extra references=Town of Rimbey website}}
Flag of Canada

Rimbey is a small town of over 2000 people in central Alberta approximately 55 km northwest of Red Deer, 143 km southwest of Edmonton and 208 km north of Calgary. The town is a junction for Highways 20 and 53, located in the Blindman River Valley area.

Nearby communities include Ponoka (east), Red Deer (southeast), and Bentley (south)

Contents

[edit] Industry & Employment

Rimbey is mainly a farming community, but the oil and gas sector is also quite prevalent.

The town has full amenities including hotels, motels, several grocery, convenience, and liquor stores and a campground. Rimbey has its own hospital and ambulance (although more specialized procedures are sent to Red Deer or Edmonton) and its own detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

[edit] Media

The town newspaper is the Rimbey Review. Until about 10 years ago Rimbey's paper was the Rimbey Record, but the conglomerate that operated it (along with papers from other small communities in Alberta such as Ponoka) shut down all its small-town papers.

[edit] History

Officially made a community in 1902, the first name given to the settlement at the turn of the century was Kansas Ridge as many of the settlers came from Kansas. Among them were the three Rimbey brothers (Sam, Ben, and Jim) for whom the town was officially named after in 1904.

In 1919 the Lacombe and Blindman Valley Electric Railway (later part of the Canadian Pacific Railway) reached Rimbey, and there was much enthusiasm for the "new town" by the tracks (now Highway 20). Two grain companies built elevators the following year and Rimbey's population swelled to 319 by 1921.

The Second World War brought abrupt changes to Rimbey, as young men and sometimes their families left the village. When war was over some returned and others did not. Many new faces came to Rimbey and the population surged to 634 by 1946.

[edit] Education

Rimbey is part of the Wolf Creek School Division No. 72, with headquarters in Ponoka. The town provides all levels of primary schooling. The Rimbey Elementary and Junior-Senior High School are right next to each other, and the West Country Outreach school also exists in the town.

The Rimbey Nursery School offers play-based programs for children 3 to 5 years old.

The Rimbey Montessori School House is a government approved private school for preschool to Grade 6 children.

The Rimbey Christian School is a private school that offers grades E.C.S. to 9. They offered grades 10-12 until September 2005.

[edit] Tourism

Pas-Ka-Poo Park includes large open lawns, a historical village site, museums and a wide array of interesting displays, including the World's Largest Collection of International Trucks in the Smithson International Truck Museum.

The Rimbey Golf & Trailer Park is located 1.5 km south.

The town has an outdoor swimming pool open from May to August every year.

The Beatty House is a historical house in the centre of town and can be booked for tours or to house social events.

There are also a couple smaller public parks (designed for children) around town.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 52°38′N 114°13′W