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Red Deer - Profile

Population: over 60,000

The city of Red Deer takes its name from the river which runs through it. The first inhabitants of the area were nomadic bands of Cree, Blackfoot and Stony Indians. The Cree had named the river "Was-ka-sioo" meaning "elk". When the early settlers came, they believed that the elk was related to the Scottish red deer, so they translated the Cree name into Red Deer.

The city of Red Deer is located at the best fording spot on the Red Deer River and so many of the early travellers passed this way. A stopping house was built in 1884 and was later fortified during the Riel Rebellion to become Fort Normandeau. Today, Fort Normandeau can be visited as one of the tourist attractions in the area.

The first settlers to the area were Reverend Leonard Gaetz and his family. They arrived in 1884, part of their homestead is included in the present day Snell Gardens. By the 1900's, Red Deer had become a well-established commercial center for the area. It offered retail businesses, agricultural processing, light manufacturing, construction material, and later, gas & oil supplies. It was incorporated into a city in 1913 with a population of 3,000.

The Red Deer area is a rich agricultural region, so it drew many settlers to the fertile area. The majority of the settlers emigrated from eastern Canada, the United States, as well as, from Britain and Scandinavia. Red Deer's heritage is celebrated each year during Western Days in mid-July.

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