Facts and Trivia

  • Red Deer was incorporated as a town in June, 1901 and as a city on March 25, 1913.
  • Red Deer's official cookie is the Caramel Surprise.
  • Mickey the Beaver appeared in a movie.
  • Part of the Glendale neighbourhood north of 67 Street and west of 59 Avenue was originally called Aspen Heights.
  • Red Deer had the first court case in Canada to include female jurors.
  • The Alpha Dairy, on Gaetz Avenue, was the first milk condensary in Western Canada.
  • Red Deer has had several female hockey teams: the Stars, the Skookums, and the Amazons.
  • The official name of the Green Onion/water tower is the Horton Water Spheroid. When it was built it was the tallest water tower in North America.
  • The Buffalo Hotel was originally called the Alberta Hotel, which opened in 1891.
  • The Highland Green neighbourhood east of 59 Avenue was originally going to be named Woodland Park. But City Council thought this would cause confusion with the West Park area.
  • The old court house was a make work project in 1930.
  • Gaetz Manufacturing Company was the first company in Alberta to manufacture work shirts and overalls.
  • There were three railways in Red Deer, the Canadian Pacific Railway station at the west end  of Ross Street, Canadian National Railways station at the east end of Ross Street and the Alberta Central Railway in Mountview.
  • The Red Deer Advocate was the sixth newspaper to be published in Red Deer.
  • In 1884 the last bison was seen in the Red Deer area.
  • Prior to the creation of the ornamental park at City Hall in 1949, City Square was used for baseball, skating and housed a playground.
  • The first outdoor ice rink opened in Red Deer in 1898.