Fort Macleod

Fort Macleod is a town of about 3,000 people (2016) in Southern Alberta, Canada. It lies to the south of Oldman River.

Understand
Fort Macleod was founded as a North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) barracks, and is named in honour of thePolice Colonel James Macleod.

The fort was built as a 70 by 70 metres square (233 by 233 ft) on October 18, 1874. The east side held the men's quarters and the west side held those of the Mounties. Buildings such as hospitals, stores, and guardrooms were in the south end. Stables and the blacksmith's shop were in the north end.

The town grew on the location of the Fort Macleod NWMP Barracks, the second headquarters of the NWMP after Fort Livingstone was abandoned in 1876. Fort Macleod was established in 1874 on a peninsula along the Oldman River, then moved in 1884 to the present town location.

Once agricultural settlement and the railway came to the region, Macleod boomed. The town became a Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) divisional point and frontier wood construction began to be replaced by brick and sandstone. In 1906 a fire devastated the downtown and destroyed most of the wooden buildings. From 1906 to 1912 Macleod had its greatest period of building, as more new brick and stone building replaced the destroyed wooden ones. Then in 1912 the CPR moved the divisional point and 200 jobs to Lethbridge, devastating the local economy. Fort Macleod ceased to grow, and in 1924 was forced to declare bankruptcy. Until the 1970s, the town's economy stagnated and the buildings from the turn-of-the-century remained untouched.

In film
Ang Lee's Academy Award-winning movie Brokeback Mountain was filmed in part in Fort Macleod. The laundry apartment is located at 2422 Third Avenue, where a sign is posted marking the "passionate reunion" of Jack and Ennis. Passchendaele was also filmed in Fort Macleod's historic downtown, which acted as a stand-in for Calgary circa 1915. Scenes involving the dust storm and Matthew McConaughey's character were also filmed in Fort Macleod in Christopher Nolan's 2014 film Interstellar, where the giant dust clouds were created on location using large fans to blow cellulose-based synthetic dust through the air.

Tourist information

 * Tourism website

By car
Highway 3 approaches from the west and east, Highway 2 approaches from the north and south; they intersect just east and west of the city, and run together through the city.

Highway 2 is Alberta's main north-south highway; it comes down from Edmonton and passes through Calgary east of downtown. Within Calgary, part of it is called the "Macleod Trail".

By bus

 * Operates a route between Lethbridge and Calgary International Airport including stops in Fort Macleod, Claresholm, and downtown Calgary. Operates several days per week.
 * Operates a route between Lethbridge and Calgary International Airport including stops in Fort Macleod, Claresholm, and downtown Calgary. Operates several days per week.
 * Operates a route between Lethbridge and Calgary International Airport including stops in Fort Macleod, Claresholm, and downtown Calgary. Operates several days per week.
 * Operates a route between Lethbridge and Calgary International Airport including stops in Fort Macleod, Claresholm, and downtown Calgary. Operates several days per week.