Atmore, Alberta

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title: "Atmore, Alberta" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["athabasca-county", "hamlets-in-alberta", "designated-places-in-alberta"] topic_path: "general/athabasca-county" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmore,_Alberta" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
nameAtmore
settlement_typeHamlet
image_skylineAtmore 10.jpg
image_captionHighway 55 through the community
pushpin_mapCanada Alberta
pushpin_map_captionLocation of Atmore in Alberta
coordinates
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameCanada
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1Alberta
subdivision_type2Region
subdivision_name2Northern Alberta
subdivision_type3Census division
subdivision_name313
subdivision_type4Municipal district
subdivision_name4Athabasca County
government_footnotes
leader_titleReeve
leader_name
leader_title1Governing body
leader_name1
area_footnotes(2021)
area_land_km20.54
population_as_of2021
population_footnotes
population_total10
population_density_km218.5
timezone1MST
utc_offset1-7
timezone1_DSTMDT
utc_offset1_DST-6
postal_code_type
website
::

| name = Atmore | settlement_type = Hamlet | image_skyline = Atmore 10.jpg | image_alt = | image_caption = Highway 55 through the community | nickname = | motto = | pushpin_map = Canada Alberta | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Atmore in Alberta | coordinates = | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Canada | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = Alberta | subdivision_type2 = Region | subdivision_name2 = Northern Alberta | subdivision_type3 = Census division | subdivision_name3 = 13 | subdivision_type4 = Municipal district | subdivision_name4 = Athabasca County | established_title = | established_date = | government_footnotes = | leader_title = Reeve | leader_name = | leader_title1 = Governing body | leader_name1 = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | area_footnotes = (2021) | area_land_km2 = 0.54 | population_as_of = 2021 | population_footnotes = | population_note = | population_total = 10 | population_density_km2 = 18.5 | population_blank1_title = | population_blank1 = | timezone1 = MST | utc_offset1 = -7 | timezone1_DST = MDT | utc_offset1_DST = -6 | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | website = | footnotes = Atmore is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Athabasca County.

Toponymy

Atmore is named after Atmore, Alabama. The Alabaman location derived its name from Charles Pawson Atmore, an employee of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad at the time of that city's 1897 christening.

Geography

Atmore is located 1 km east of the junction of Highway 55 and Highway 63, 43 km west of Lac La Biche, 54 km east of Athabasca and 250 km south of Fort McMurray. The hamlet lies on the southwestern shore of Charron Lake and has an elevation of 585 m.

Amenities

Atmore contains an active community centre as of 2026, operated by the Atmore Community League. After Atmore Community Hall was beset with flooding during the summer of 2024, Athabasca County provided funds to reinforce the building.

Since 1986, Atmore Community Hall has organized the Atmore Hoof-a-Thon, an annual trail ride, dinner and dance that fundraises for the Mazankowski Heart Institute in Edmonton. As of 2024, the Atmore Hoof-a-Thon has raised over $800,000 for cardiac health since its inception.

History

Dakin and Atmore: 1914-1948

Settlement in the area later known as Atmore began around 1914, primarily by French-Canadian farmers hoping to defy conscription during the First World War. The first school in the area, Quebec School, was built in 1923.

The area began to be known as Dakin at some point after 1918, when Henry H. Dakin and his family moved there. Henry Dakin established a post office bearing his family name in 1925, and the school was renamed Dakin School in 1938.

A competing community named Atmore developed close to the Dakin settlement in the 1930s. An Atmore Community Club convened in 1938 for the purposes of building a community centre. In April 1939, a post office by the name Atmore was founded by postmaster Edmond Vogstad, operating out of his general store. Construction began on a hotel named the Atmore Hotel in 1947. After the Dakin post office closed in May 1948, the area became known as Atmore permanently.

Atmore's development: 1949-1979

A bus service connecting Atmore to Fort McMurray operated briefly between 1949 and 1953. A Roman Catholic church, St. Philip's (also recorded as St. Philippe), was built in Atmore in 1952; Dakin School relocated to the nearby hamlet of Grassland the next year. After Atmore Cemetery was founded by the Catholic congregation in 1956, Henry Dakin was the first to be interred there.

The Atmore Hotel burned down in 1961. The next year, another fire destroyed Atmore's post office and general store. Although these locations were quickly rebuilt, the replacements burned down as well in 1968. They were not rebuilt again, and postal services operated out of the homes and businesses of local postmasters.

In 1963, a small United Church chapel in Lac La Biche fell into disuse. Atmore congregants of the Untied Church purchased the building and transported it to their locality. The church remained in use until it burned down in February 1973. For several years after this fire, St. Philip's Church offered use of their place of worship to United Church practitioners.

Recent development: 1980-present

Bishop Paul Terrio announced the closure of St. Philip Church in 2013. It ceased operations in July, and the land and building were sold by the Diocese of Saint Paul, Alberta. The St. Isidore Parish in nearby Plamondon assumed responsibility for maintaining the St. Philip Cemetery, which the Diocese of Saint Paul continued to own.

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, residents of the communities of Atmore and Grassland organized a fundraiser to provide humanitarian aid in Ukraine and to help resettle Ukrainian refugees in Alberta. Over $40,000 was raised and donated to the Ed Stelmach Community Foundation. Stelmach himself was in attendance.

In March 2025, the Government of Alberta announced funding to fully twin Highway 63 from Fort McMurray to Edmonton, thus improving direct connections from Edmonton from Atmore. Two months later, Atmore was the site of two EF1 tornadoes. Some buildings were damaged, but no injuries were reported.

Demographics

| title = Population history of Atmore | type = Canada | align = left | width = | shading = | percentages = | state = | footnote = | source = Statistics Canada

|1951|42 |1956|51 |1961|56 |1966|38 |1971|27 |1976|37 |1981|38 |1986|37 |1991|30 |1996|35 |2001|37 |2006|20 |2011|20 |2016|35 |2021|10

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Atmore had a population of 10 living in 8 of its 12 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 35. With a land area of 0.54 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Atmore had a population of 35 living in 14 of its 16 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2011 population of 20. With a land area of 0.54 km2, it had a population density of in 2016.

References

| Centre = Atmore | North = Fort McMurray | Northeast = Plamondon | East = Lac La Biche | Southeast = Vilna | South = Smoky Lake | Southwest = Boyle | West = Athabasca | Northwest = Wabasca | image = }}

References

  1. {{Athabasca County Council. ref
  2. {{AltaML
  3. Mardon, Ernest. (17 November 1972). "Community Names of Alberta". [[University of Lethbridge]].
  4. (2006). "Concise place names of Alberta". University of Calgary Press.
  5. "Atmore {{!}} Alabama, Escambia County, & Map {{!}} Britannica". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  6. "Community Grants".
  7. Brennan, Cole. (14 September 2024). "Athabasca County putting up funds to stop flooding at Atmore Hall". Town and Country Today.
  8. Freehill, Lexi. (14 May 2024). "Three generations celebrate 37 years of Atmore Hoof-a-Thon". Town and Country Today.
  9. Stocking, Heather. (3 May 2022). "Atmore Hoof-A-Thon saddles up for long-awaited return". Lakeland Today.
  10. (1986). "Dreams and Determination: A History of Grassland and Districts". Grassland and Districts History Book Society.
  11. "Recruitment and Conscription - Conscription, 1917".
  12. Canada, Library and Archives. (2016-11-25). "Dakin Archives / Post Offices and Postmasters".
  13. (23 June 1925). "Good Homesteads Still Available". Edmonton Journal.
  14. Canada, Library and Archives. (2016-11-25). "Atmore Archives / Post Offices and Postmasters".
  15. St. Isidore Parish. (1 December 2022). "History of St. Philip Parish in Atmore, Alberta". stisidoreparish.ca.
  16. Stocking, Heather. (31 May 2022). "To Ukraine, with love from Alberta". Town and Country Today.
  17. Zwick, Chris. (23 June 2022). "Gallery: Ukrainian fundraiser brings in $40K". Town and Country Today.
  18. McDermott, Vincent. (4 March 2025). "Alberta announces $311M for highways connecting Fort McMurray, northern communities". fortmcmurraytoday.
  19. Freehill, Lexi. (10 June 2025). "Two tornadoes hit Atmore in late May, confirmed". Town and Country Today.
  20. Classen, Josh. (2025-05-31). "Record heat across Alberta Thursday, 2 tornadoes confirmed from Monday’s storms".
  21. Perry, Brennen. (2025-06-01). "Two EF1 Tornadoes Confirmed Northeast of Edmonton From Monday, May 26th, 2025".
  22. {{1956CDNcuipr
  23. {{1961CDNcuipr
  24. {{1966CDNcuipr
  25. {{1971CDNcuipr
  26. {{1976CDNcuipr
  27. {{1981CDNcuipr
  28. {{1986CDNcuipr
  29. {{1991CDNcuipr
  30. {{1996CDNcdplr
  31. (August 15, 2012). "Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Divisions, 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].
  32. (July 20, 2021). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].
  33. (February 8, 2012). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2011 and 2006 censuses (Alberta)". Statistics Canada.
  34. (February 9, 2022). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places". [[Statistics Canada]].
  35. (February 8, 2017). "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta)". [[Statistics Canada]].

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athabasca-countyhamlets-in-albertadesignated-places-in-alberta