Chestermere

History

Prior to the 20th century, the area around what is now Chestermere Lake was settled by only a few farmers. When the Canadian Pacific Railway was established in the 1880s, more and more people came to settle in the west. To make farming more productive, settlers began to determine ways to irrigate their land. As a natural wetland, Chestermere Lake was considered to be perfect for use as a balancing pool for the Western Irrigation Block. By 1907, a dam and canal system had been built, the wetland developed into a lake, and farmers began using the water for irrigation. Following the irrigation development, the lake began to be used for recreation. People would lease land from the Western Irrigation District (WID) (which took control of the land from CPR in 1944), build cabins and stay on the lake during the summer months. In 1959, the Chestermere Cabin Owners Association (CCOA) was incorporated with approximately 50 members. The CCOA held events, bought a fire truck for the community, worked to reduce pollution in the lake, planted trees, and arranged for electricity and natural gas for the cabins. As more people began to live around Chestermere Lake, residents wanted to secure long-term leases. In 1975, the CCOA bought the land from the WID and then transferred it to the residents. By 1977, the lake boasted 120 permanent homes and gained official status as the Summer Village of Chestermere Lake on April 1, 1977. As a summer village, the residents of Chestermere gained more political influence and were able to begin adding services and amenities or encouraging infrastructure and developments such as fire and protection services, improved roads, a community hall, street lights, a recreation centre, local businesses and a golf course. By 1992, Chestermere's population…

Geography

The city is organized into the following neighbourhoods. ;Northeast * The Cove * Clearwater ;Northwest * Westmere * Westmere Commercial * Lakepointe * Bridgeport ;Southwest * Chesterview Estates * The Beaches * Lakeside Greens * Lakeview Landing * Rainbow Falls * West Creek * South Shore * Dawson's Landing * Chelsea * Waterford * Waterford Estates ;Southeast * Chestermere Estates * East Lakeview Shores * Estates of Chestermere * Kinniburgh North * Kinniburgh South * Lake Ere Estates

Most-observed species

• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  60,747
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  50,757
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  47,148
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  44,820
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  42,026
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  39,602
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  34,160
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  31,718

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2002-07-28
  29 km SSE of Canmore, Canada