Fort Macleod

Fort Macleod was founded as a North-West Mounted Police barracks, and is named in honour of the North-West Mounted Police Colonel James Macleod.
The fort was built as a 70 by 70 meters 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 North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) Barracks, the second headquarters of the NWMP after Fort Livingstone was abandoned in 1876. Fort Macleod was established in 1874 on an 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.

There are few alternatives to arriving by car. Highway 3 approaches from the southwest and northeast. Highway 2 approaches from the northwest and southeast. They intersect just east and west of the city, and run together through the city. They also have an airport.

• Fort Macleod AirportGeneral aviation only, no scheduled service. Many of the buildings date from its days as a British Commonwealth Air Training Plan base.

• Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump

  phone: +1 403-553-2731
  This UNESCO World Heritage Site has been in use for 5,500 years as a place where the aboriginal people of the plains killed buffalo by stampeding them over a cliff. An interpretive centre built into a cliff has exhibits on the buffalo hunt.

• The Fort Museum of the North West Mounted Police

  phone: +1 553-4703
  address: 219 - 25th Street
  Commemorates the role of the North West (later Royal) Mounted Police in bringing English authority to the Canadian Plains during the 19th century. Interpretive exhibits, museum displays. Demonstration of horseback riding four times daily during the summer.

• Empress Theatre

  phone: +1 403-553-4404
  address: 235 Main Street

• The Collective

  phone: +1 403-634-5203
  address: 210 Main St
  Vintage & artisan market gallery, repurposed/restyled/chalk painted decor, handcrafted objects made by local artists including jewellery, felting, paintings, mixed media.

• Cafe Orange

  phone: +1 403-308-3905
  address: 257 24street
  Coffee shop, café, breakfast and lunch menus. Gluten-free options.

• BJ Teriyaki House & Waffles

  phone: +1 403-553-0110
  address: 2323 7 Avenue
  Two restaurants in one building: sushi on one side, waffles and ice cream on the other. Japanese, Sushi, Asian. No teriyaki waffles, because that would be gross.

• Homestead Bakeshop

  phone: +1 403-553-4328
  address: 228 24 St
  Artisan baking of bread and pastries from scratch using ingredients from local producers and farmers where possible.

• Buffalo Jump Cafe

  phone: +1 403-553-2188
  60 seat café offers native-themed fare, including buffalo stew, buffalo burgers and buffalo chilli. Traditional lunch bar fare includes burgers & fries or soup & sandwich.

• Century II Motel

  phone: +1 403 553-3331
  address: 462 24 St
  Each simply furnished room includes wi-fi (in all areas), flatscreen cable TV, microwave, fridge, coffee machine, ensuite bathroom with hairdryer. Some rooms feature a kitchenette.

• Sunset Motel

  address: 104 Hwy 3 W
  Free WiFi and a flat-screen cable TV. 5 km from Fort Macleod airport. Free WiFi in all areas. A microwave, refrigerator and a coffee machine are provided in all rooms. A private bathroom is included. Some rooms feature a kitchenette.

• Heritage Motel

  phone: +1 403 553-4205
  address: 146 24th Street

• Fort Motel

  phone: +1 403 553-3115
  address: 451 24th Street
  Free Wifi, air conditioning, non-smoking rooms, kitchenette, pets allowed.

• DJ Motel

  phone: +1 403 553-4011
  address: 416 24th Street (Colonel Macleod Boulevard)