Editing Red Deer, Alberta (section)

== History ==
The area was inhabited by [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] including the [[Blackfoot]], Plains [[Cree]] and [[Stoney First Nation|Stoney]] before the arrival of European [[Saskatchewan River fur trade|fur traders]] in the late eighteenth century.<ref name=history>{{cite web | url=http://www.reddeer.ca/Visitors/About+Red+Deer/History/default.htm | title=History of Red Deer | publisher=City of Red Deer | access-date=November 15, 2013 |url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131204024702/http://www.reddeer.ca/Visitors/About+Red+Deer/History/default.htm | archive-date=December 4, 2013 }}</ref> A First Nations trail ran from the [[Montana Territory]] across the [[Bow River]] near present-day [[Calgary]] and on to [[Fort Edmonton]], later known as the [[Calgary and Edmonton Trail]]. The trail crossed the Red Deer River at a wide, stony shallows. The "Old Red Deer Crossing" is {{convert|7|km}} upstream from the present-day city.

[[Cree]] people called the river {{lang|cr-Latn|Waskasoo Seepee}}, which means "[[Elk]] River." European arrivals sometimes called North American elk "red deer," after the related [[red deer|Eurasian species]], and later named the community after the river. The name for the modern city in [[Plains Cree language|Plains Cree]] is a [[calque]] of the English name ({{lang|cr-Latn|mihkwâpisimosos}}, literally "red type of deer"), while the name of the river itself is still {{lang|cr-Latn|wâwâskêsiw-sîpiy}} or "elk river."

[[File:Jasper.Wapiti-Hirsch.P1033401.jpg|left|Elk deer in Jasper National Park near Maligne Canyon.|alt=Elk deer in Jasper National Park near Maligne Canyon.|thumb]]

First Nations on the north side of the river entered into [[Treaty 6]] in 1876 and on the south side [[Treaty 7]] in 1877. Farmers and ranchers began to settle on the fertile lands.

A [[trading post]] and [[stopping house]] were built at the Crossing in 1882. This became [[Fort Normandeau]] during the 1885 [[North-West Rebellion]].

;Leonard Gaetz
[[Leonard Gaetz]] gave a half-share of {{convert|1240|acre|km2}} he had acquired to the [[Calgary and Edmonton Railway]] to develop a bridge over the river and a townsite. As a result, the Crossing was gradually abandoned. The first trains arrived in 1891.

;1900 to 1929
Following [[Military history of Canada during World War I|World War I]], Red Deer emerged as a small, quiet, but prosperous, prairie city.

Bird watcher [[Elsie Cassels]] helped to establish the Gaetz Lakes bird sanctuary.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62181407|title=Fish, fur & feathers: fish and wildlife conservation in Alberta 1905–2005.|date=2005|publisher=Fish and Wildlife Historical Society|others=Federation of Alberta Naturalists., Fish and Wildlife Historical Society.|isbn=0-9696134-7-4|location=Edmonton|oclc=62181407}}</ref>

;1930 to 1945
During [[Great Depression in Canada|Great Depression]] of the 1930s, Central Alberta was not hit by severe drought. The city was virtually debt-free and profited from its ownership of the local public utilities.

In [[Canada in World War II|World War II]], a large army training camp was located where [[41 Canadian Brigade Group|Cormack Armoury]], the Memorial Centre and Lindsay Thurber High School are now. Two [[British Commonwealth Air Training Plan|training airfields]] were built south of the city at [[Penhold]] and [[Bowden, Alberta|Bowden]].

;Post–Second World War
Red Deer expanded rapidly following [[Leduc No. 1|the discovery of major oil reserves in Alberta]] in the late 1940s. Red Deer became a centre for oil and gas and related industries, such as the [[Joffre Cogeneration Plant]].

[[North Red Deer, Alberta|North Red Deer]] was amalgamated in 1948.

Government and administrative services include a hospital, a courthouse and a provincial building.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.majorprojects.alberta.ca/details/Red-Deer-Regional-Hospital-Expansion/4050 |title=Red Deer Regional Hospital Expansion |publisher=Government of Alberta |access-date=May 6, 2022|quote=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.majorprojects.alberta.ca/details/Red-Deer-Justice-Centre/3444 |title=Red Deer Justice Centre |publisher=Government of Alberta |access-date=May 6, 2022|quote=}}</ref><ref>[https://rdnewsnow.com/2020/05/05/maintenance-upgrades-continue-at-red-deer-provincial-building/ "Maintenance Upgrades Continue at Red Deer Provincial Government Building," Red Deer News Now, May 5, 2020, Accessed May 7, 2022.]</ref>

The railway moved to the outskirts and [[Calgary–South Edmonton train|passenger train service]] ceased. The [[Red Deer Canadian Pacific Railway Bridge|CPR bridge]] is now a walking trail.

Red Deer is Alberta's third largest city, with a slightly higher population than [[Lethbridge]].