Atmore
Hamlet
Coordinates54°49′9″N 112°33′1″W
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
RegionNorthern Alberta
Census division13
Municipal districtAthabasca County
Area land0.54 km²
Population as of2021
Population total10
Population density18.5 km²
Time zoneMST (UTC-7)
Time zone (DST)MDT (UTC-6)
Websitewww.athabascacounty.com

Atmore is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Athabasca County.[1]

Toponymy

Atmore is named after Atmore, Alabama.[2][3] The Alabaman location derived its name from Charles Pawson Atmore, an employee of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad at the time of that city's 1897 christening.[4]

Geography

Atmore is located 1 km (0.62 mi) east of the junction of Highway 55 and Highway 63, 43 km (27 mi) west of Lac La Biche, 54 km (34 mi) east of Athabasca and 250 km (160 mi) south of Fort McMurray. The hamlet lies on the southwestern shore of Charron Lake and has an elevation of 585 m (1,919 ft).

Amenities

Atmore contains an active community centre as of 2026, operated by the Atmore Community League.[5] After Atmore Community Hall was beset with flooding during the summer of 2024, Athabasca County provided funds to reinforce the building.[6]

Since 1986, Atmore Community Hall has organized the Atmore Hoof-a-Thon, an annual trail ride, dinner and dance that fundraises for the Mazankowski Heart Institute in Edmonton.[7][8] As of 2024, the Atmore Hoof-a-Thon has raised over $800,000 for cardiac health since its inception.[7]

History

Dakin and Atmore: 1914-1948

Settlement in the area later known as Atmore began around 1914, primarily by French-Canadian farmers hoping to defy conscription during the First World War.[9][10] The first school in the area, Quebec School, was built in 1923.[9]

The area began to be known as Dakin at some point after 1918, when Henry H. Dakin and his family moved there.[9] Henry Dakin established a post office bearing his family name in 1925, and the school was renamed Dakin School in 1938.[9][11][12]

A competing community named Atmore developed close to the Dakin settlement in the 1930s. An Atmore Community Club convened in 1938 for the purposes of building a community centre.[9] In April 1939, a post office by the name Atmore was founded by postmaster Edmond Vogstad, operating out of his general store.[9][13] Construction began on a hotel named the Atmore Hotel in 1947.[9] After the Dakin post office closed in May 1948, the area became known as Atmore permanently.[9][11][13]

Atmore's development: 1949-1979

A bus service connecting Atmore to Fort McMurray operated briefly between 1949 and 1953.[9] A Roman Catholic church, St. Philip's (also recorded as St. Philippe), was built in Atmore in 1952;[14] Dakin School relocated to the nearby hamlet of Grassland the next year.[9] After Atmore Cemetery was founded by the Catholic congregation in 1956, Henry Dakin was the first to be interred there.[9]

The Atmore Hotel burned down in 1961.[9] The next year, another fire destroyed Atmore's post office and general store. Although these locations were quickly rebuilt, the replacements burned down as well in 1968. They were not rebuilt again, and postal services operated out of the homes and businesses of local postmasters.[9][13]

In 1963, a small United Church chapel in Lac La Biche fell into disuse. Atmore congregants of the Untied Church purchased the building and transported it to their locality. The church remained in use until it burned down in February 1973. For several years after this fire, St. Philip's Church offered use of their place of worship to United Church practitioners.[9]

Recent development: 1980-present

Bishop Paul Terrio announced the closure of St. Philip Church in 2013.[14] It ceased operations in July, and the land and building were sold by the Diocese of Saint Paul, Alberta.[14] The St. Isidore Parish in nearby Plamondon assumed responsibility for maintaining the St. Philip Cemetery, which the Diocese of Saint Paul continued to own.[14]

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, residents of the communities of Atmore and Grassland organized a fundraiser to provide humanitarian aid in Ukraine and to help resettle Ukrainian refugees in Alberta.[15] Over $40,000 was raised and donated to the Ed Stelmach Community Foundation.[16] Stelmach himself was in attendance.[15][16]

In March 2025, the Government of Alberta announced funding to fully twin Highway 63 from Fort McMurray to Edmonton, thus improving direct connections from Edmonton from Atmore.[17] Two months later, Atmore was the site of two EF1 tornadoes.[18][19][20] Some buildings were damaged, but no injuries were reported.[18][19]

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Atmore had a population of 10 living in 8 of its 12 total private dwellings, a change of -71.43% from its 2016 population of 35. With a land area of 0.54 km2 (0.21 sq mi), it had a population density of in 2021.[21]

As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Atmore had a population of 35 living in 14 of its 16 total private dwellings, a change of 75% from its 2011 population of 20. With a land area of 0.54 km2 (0.21 sq mi), it had a population density of in 2016.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^
  2. ^ Mardon, Ernest (17 November 1972). Community Names of Alberta. Lethbridge: University of Lethbridge. p. 26. Copyright No. 237,550.
  3. ^ Aubrey, Merrily K. (ed.) (2006). Concise place names of Alberta. Calgary: University of Calgary Press. p. 15. ISBN 978-1-55238-210-3.
  4. ^ "Atmore | Alabama, Escambia County, & Map | Britannica". Encyclopedia Britannica. Archived 2025-12-12 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  5. ^ "Community Grants". Athabasca County. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  6. ^ Brennan, Cole (14 September 2024). "Athabasca County putting up funds to stop flooding at Atmore Hall". Town and Country Today
  7. ^ Freehill, Lexi (14 May 2024). "Three generations celebrate 37 years of Atmore Hoof-a-Thon". Town and Country Today
  8. ^ Stocking, Heather (3 May 2022). "Atmore Hoof-A-Thon saddles up for long-awaited return". Lakeland Today
  9. ^ McNamara, Mary (ed.) (1986). Dreams and Determination: A History of Grassland and Districts. Grassland and Districts History Book Society. pp. 120–135. – via University of Calgary
  10. ^ "Recruitment and Conscription - Conscription, 1917". Canada and the First World War. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  11. ^ Canada, Library and Archives (2016-11-25). "Dakin Archives / Post Offices and Postmasters". recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  12. ^ "Good Homesteads Still Available". Edmonton Journal. 23 June 1925. p. 9.
  13. ^ Canada, Library and Archives (2016-11-25). "Atmore Archives / Post Offices and Postmasters". recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  14. ^ St. Isidore Parish (1 December 2022). History of St. Philip Parish in Atmore, Alberta. stisidoreparish.ca.
  15. ^ Stocking, Heather (31 May 2022). "To Ukraine, with love from Alberta". Town and Country Today
  16. ^ Zwick, Chris (23 June 2022). "Gallery: Ukrainian fundraiser brings in $40K". Town and Country Today
  17. ^ McDermott, Vincent (4 March 2025). "Alberta announces $311M for highways connecting Fort McMurray, northern communities". fortmcmurraytoday. Archived 2025-04-08 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  18. ^ Freehill, Lexi (10 June 2025). "Two tornadoes hit Atmore in late May, confirmed". Town and Country Today
  19. ^ Classen, Josh (2025-05-31). "Record heat across Alberta Thursday, 2 tornadoes confirmed from Monday’s storms". CTVNews. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  20. ^ Perry, Brennen (2025-06-01). "Two EF1 Tornadoes Confirmed Northeast of Edmonton From Monday, May 26th, 2025". Instant Weather. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  21. ^ "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  22. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.