Our People & Places
The communities of Sherwood Park, Strathcona County, and the City of Fort Saskatchewan are located in central Alberta, just to the eastern edge of the City of Edmonton. We're situated along the North Saskatchewan River to the west and bordered by Sturgeon County, Leduc County and Beaver County. Our communities are included in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, a group of 35 municipalities in the Capital Region.
Historically Speaking...
Glaciers receded, left an interesting knob & kettle terrain with fertile lands. Fertile lands brought the animals, the animals brought the First People. Explorers and settlers arrived, there was a prosperous fur trade, and rumors of gold brought the gold prospectors. The golden era didn't last long, but the robust agriculture did and it lured many families to the area. Dairy became a huge local industry, with the area being labeled the "Dairy Shed of Edmonton". The dairy farms eventually declined in numbers and in the 1950's oil took over as our most lucrative resource. Since then, there has been diversification, of course, but oil and agriculture remain very important economic drivers of this local economy.
First Nations
Our Communities are all located on the traditional lands, referred to as Treaty 6 Territory. Treaty 6 encompasses the traditional territories of numerous Western Canadian First Nations as well as the Métis people who have called this area home for many years. As free farmland lured many homesteaders to the region, many Métis families in the region also took up land claims in the region and built their homesteads.
Fort Saskatchewan
Just 15 minutes north of Sherwood Park on highway 21 lies the City of Fort Saskatchewan. It was established as a Fort by the North West Mounted Police in 1875, then grew into a township and later a city, in 1985. It has an interesting history, smack dab in the center of the fur-trading industry, along the “new” transcontinental rail line and of course, the former jail. It has a great little museum and historic train station, built in 1905.
Fort Saskatchewan lies on the shores of the North Saskatchewan River, has a sheep named Auggie as the city mascot and is home to about 25,000 people. It also boasts some of the best trails in the Capital Region. Learn more.
Hamlets in the County
There are eight hamlets in Strathcona County: Antler Lake, Ardrossan, Collingwood Cove, Half Moon Lake, Hastings Lake, Josephburg, North Cooking Lake and South Cooking Lake. Learn more.
Sherwood Park & Strathcona County
Sherwood Park remains Alberta's largest hamlet. According to the website, "citypopulation", 2022 census numbers indicate that Sherwood Park would have the population to be considered Alberta's 4th largest city, very closely followed by Lethbridge.
In 1996, Strathcona County was designated “a specialized municipality”, which means it retains one municipal government to oversee the needs of both the rural communities and its urban centre (Sherwood Park).
The population of the County is just over 100,000, with about 70,000 people living in Sherwood Park (“the Park” to locals). In rural Strathcona County, there are 8 hamlets and many more country acreage subdivisions, with a total population of about 30,000. Learn more.
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