Tofield, Alberta
Encyclopedia
Tofield is a town in central Alberta
Central Alberta
Central Alberta is a region located in the Canadian province of Alberta.Central Alberta is the most densely populated rural area in the province...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is located 68 km (42.3 mi) east of Edmonton at the junction of Highway 14, Highway 834, and Highway 626. Beaverhill Lake
Beaverhill Lake
Beaverhill Lake is a large dried up lake in central Alberta, Canada. It is a site of regional importance in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. It is managed by the Canadian Wildlife Service division of Environment Canada....
lies immediately north-east of the community.
The town is served by the Tofield Airport
Tofield Airport
Tofield Airport, , is located adjacent to Tofield, Alberta, Canada.-External links:* on COPA's Places to Fly airport directory...
, operated by Three Hills Airport Commission.
History
Before 1865 only Aboriginals lived in this area, the home of the Cree. Beaverhill LakeBeaverhill Lake
Beaverhill Lake is a large dried up lake in central Alberta, Canada. It is a site of regional importance in the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. It is managed by the Canadian Wildlife Service division of Environment Canada....
(known then as Beaver or Beaver Hills Lake) was full of fish and wildfowl. A variety of wild fruits could be eaten fresh or added to pemmican
Pemmican
Pemmican is a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as a nutritious food. The word comes from the Cree word pimîhkân, which itself is derived from the word pimî, "fat, grease". It was invented by the native peoples of North America...
. Big game animals, including herds of buffalo, were available for food and clothing.
Tofield's Aboriginal legacy is evident in the names of local creeks: Maskawan, Amisk and Ketchamoot. The latter refers to Chief Ketchamoot who came from Ft. Pitt in 1860 to help the local Crees against their traditional Blackfoot enemies. Victorious, he remained in the area, and is buried on the bank of the Ketchamoot Creek.
Tofield's first school was organized in 1890 and named McKenzie School in honor of the first postmaster in the area, at the Logan post office. The Tofield Post Office was obtained in 1897, and was located at the south end of Beaverhill Lake.
The town of Tofield had its beginning in 1906 when Morton and Adams built a General Store near the Post Office at a site southeast of present day Tofield. By the spring of 1906 other businesses, including a lumber yard, hardware store, another general store, a drug store, a blacksmith shop and a hotel, had been founded.
Very soon after that, the town moved to a site northwest of the old site and north of the present townsite when the Edmonton-based company Crafts and Lee offered free lots that were near the site of the proposed route of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historical Canadian railway.A wholly owned subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway , the GTPR was constructed by GTR using loans provided by the Government of Canada. The company was formed in 1903 with a mandate to build west from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the...
. By fall of 1908 two blocks of businesses were filled and all residential lots were full.
Later that year the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historical Canadian railway.A wholly owned subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway , the GTPR was constructed by GTR using loans provided by the Government of Canada. The company was formed in 1903 with a mandate to build west from Winnipeg, Manitoba to the...
decided on a route south of the second townsite and the town moved again, to its present location. Tofield was proclaimed a village on September 9, 1907 and became a town just two years later in 1909.
Origins of the name
Tofield is named after the pioneer medical man, Dr. J.H. Tofield, who came to the area in 1893 from England. He was born in Yorkshire and educated in Oxford as a doctor and as an engineer. Tofield arrived in Edmonton in 1882 and served as an army doctor in the Riel Rebellion. The name Tofield was first applied to the school district and in March 1898 to the post office.There are two Tofield families in England, one in Yorkshire and one in and around Stewkley
Stewkley
Stewkley is a village and a civil parish within the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 5 miles East of Winslow and 4 miles West of Leighton Buzzard....
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. The name Tofield evolved from the Norman Tocqueville, through to Tokeville in mediaeval times, to Tokefield in Tudor times and then to Tofield. The village of Tocqueville is located in the Normandy region of France, near Cherbourg.
Demographics
In 2006, Tofield had a population of 1,876 living in 756 dwellingsHouse
A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...
, a 3.2% increase from 2001. The town has a land area of 6.01 km² (2.3 sq mi) and a population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
of 312.4 /km2.
Climate
Tofield experiences a humid continental climateHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfb).