Local Park and Lake. Retreived from Village of Caroline Website.
Overhead View of Caroline. Retrieved from Meyers Norris Penny Website.
Trails near Caroline. Retrieved from SouthRam Outfitters Website.
The village of Caroline is a small progressive community surrounded by Alberta’s rolling foothills and is just east of the Rocky Mountains. The area is well known for its breath-taking landscape and untouched wilderness and is described as the perfect place to get away and enjoy peace and quiet.
Caroline is a “Community of Choices”, offering residents and visitors a wide range of services from retailers, professional, and tourist services to agricultural, oil and gas, forestry, and trucking services.
Even though the village thinks it has something great going, the province does as well. Caroline currently holds the title of 2002 Provincial 4-Bloom Champion in the Communities in Bloom Competition. This title also illustrates the communities dedication to cohesion and volunteerism. In this small community, there are 5 community halls, with so many organizations we can’t name them all.
Caroline is located in the Municipal District of Clearwater, and is 41 km southeast of Rocky Mountain House, 50 km east of Banff National Park, 61 km west of Innisfail, and less than an hour away from Red Deer. Caroline is located on Highway 54, which also serves as the villages main street. The scenic Cowboy Trail, Highway 22, also crosses through Caroline.
Caroline is the hometown of Canada’s figure skating champion Kurt Browning. Kurt’s Korner, located in the Kurt Browning Arena, is a local must see. It is full of objects and memorabilia from his skating career. Another must see is the Caroline and District Museum where visitors can learn of early Western Canadian history, all within a restored schoolhouse.
Local recreational attractions include the Caroline & District Golf Course, Dar-cys Mini Dee-Ab-Lo (miniature frontier town), Western & Wildlife Art Gallery (featuring John Stone), Big Horn Stampede Grounds, Camp Caroline, as well as various outfitters and guest ranches. Annual events include: Salute to Cowboys, Big Horn Stampede, and Big West Country Days.
As Caroline is surrounded by breath taking scenery, it is no surprise that there are a large number of local parks and campgrounds that allow individuals to take in the natural beauty of the area, or even fish and boat. These include Burnstick Lake, Clearwater Trading Campground, Clear Springs Campground, Alford Lake, Phyllis Lake Provincial Park, and Raven River Provincial Recreation Area.
As of 2001, the population of Caroline is 555 people. Caroline has seen a vast population increase since the early 1990’s and from 1996 to 2001, the population rose by nearly 15%. Caroline has a quite young population, with the highest proportion of residents between the ages of 5-14(19.82%), 35-44 (16.22%), and 25-34 (15.32%).As of 2001, majority of residents are employed in the following industries: retail (25%), business and community services (18.3%), and construction (15%).
Early settlers first began inhabited the area in 1903, mainly at the north bank of the Raven River. In 1912, H.A. Langley opened the first Post Office and General Store, just south of the present village. The Post Office was named Caroline after Langleys only child Caroline Rebecca. Later the whole community became known as Caroline.
During early years, Innisfail was a 3-day trip, so the local community had to rely heavily on each other for help and support when the need came about. The first school, South Fork School, was established in 1907 and was one mile south of the Post Office. In 1910, the first water well was dug by a local drilling company owned by C. Hall and A. Bowers. The village experienced the most growth during the late 1930’s. In 1937 the Caroline Hotel and the Sharps Picture Shows opened, followed by S. Dutton’s butcher shop and pool hall. The Alberta Treasury Branch opened for business in 1942.
Like most of Alberta, agriculture is the main industry for the Caroline area. Mostly in the form of mixed farming, ranching and equine services.
The Caroline area has always been surrounded by heavily forested lands, and since the early 1900’s sawmills and logging outfits have been present in the Caroline area. Today, the lumber industry continues to contribute to the local economy, mainly in the form of logging. Currently, Sunpine Forest Products is the main logging firm operating in the Caroline area.
Oil and Gas has also begun to increase in importance to the community. In 1986, Shell Canada uncovered the largest sour gas discovery in Alberta. Today, the Caroline Swan Hills Gas Field is responsible for community business growth and has helped with creating additional economic benefits from the region.
Tourism is also slowly becoming important for the local economy, with up to 3,500 visitors annually, from areas across Canada, Switzerland, Holland, Philippines, Finland, Ukraine, Germany, Australia, and Great Britan.
Caroline offers schooling from grades 1 to 12 in both public and private settings, with adult continuing education programs also available. Caroline has an 8-unit seniors home, but the nearest hospitals are in Rocky Mountain House and Innisfail.
Caroline offers tourists and outdoor fanatics a wide range of guest ranches, tour companies, and outfitters. Some of the most well known include Lazy M Ranch, South Ram Outfitters, KB Trails, and Ross Ranch.
Primarily, local businesses encircle the local industries, with many agricultural, trucking/freight, and oilfield maintenance businesses. Major businesses include Alberta Treasury Branch, Shell Canada, Sunpine Forest Products, Pioneer Transport, and SpruceView Transport.
Local Website: http://www.vil.caroline.ab.ca/
As of August 2003, the local and surrounding businesses of Caroline:
| 1 | AMOCO Canada | 43 | Central Alberta Pest Control |
| 2 | ATB | 44 | Central Pump Jack Maintenance |
| 3 | Alberta North Highway Services Ltd. | 45 | Chuck’s Portable Line Boring |
| 4 | Alsott Outfitting | 46 | Clearwater Electric |
| 5 | Alta West Farms Ltd. | 47 | Clearwater Reclamation |
| 6 | Anadarko Canada Corp. | 48 | Clearwater Trading Co Ltd. |
| 7 | Anderson Slashing | 49 | Crazy Horse Welding |
| 8 | Andy’s Water Haulin’ | 50 | Dar-Cy’s Mini Dee-Ab-Lo |
| 9 | Awesome Hair Design | 51 | Dave Hovind Welding Ltd. |
| 10 | B&H Trucking | 52 | Delta Controls Ltd. |
| 11 | BP Canada Energy Co. | 53 | Diwesco Hoe Services |
| 12 | Bar XL Ranch | 54 | Dix Leatherworks |
| 13 | Barlou Ranch | 55 | Dougan’s Service Bulk Fuels |
| 14 | Bell View Ranch | 56 | Dukestead Transport Ltd. |
| 15 | Benz’s Oilfield | 57 | Dunsford & Scott |
| 16 | Big T Consulting | 58 | Elly’s Tanning & Massage |
| 17 | Black Strip Trucking Systems | 59 | Evan’s Janitorial |
| 18 | Boundary Motel | 60 | Fiddlestix |
| 19 | Boundary Store & Café | 61 | Flaman Rentals |
| 20 | Burger Baron & Pizza | 62 | GTI Bulk Fuel & Oil |
| 21 | Burnstick Lake Resort | 63 | Gibson Petroleum Co. Ltd. |
| 22 | Butte Pebble Company | 64 | Glen’s Livestock Hauling |
| 23 | C7 Quarter Horses | 65 | Great West Rodeo |
| 24 | Camp Caroline | 66 | Guenther Welding Ltd. |
| 25 | Can-Roc Enterprises | 67 | Harriman Lumber & Construction |
| 26 | Capital Pressure Oilfield Services | 68 | Hassefield Forestry Consulting |
| 27 | Caroline Bottle Depot | 69 | Helen Hunley Insurance Ltd. |
| 28 | Caroline District Golf Course | 70 | Heritage Signs |
| 29 | Caroline Dollar Store Plus | 71 | Homelife Evergreen Realty |
| 30 | Caroline Farm Supplies | 72 | Hunt Terry DVM |
| 31 | Caroline Gas & Snacks | 73 | Impressions In Steel |
| 32 | Caroline Gateway Motel | 74 | J&V Oilfields Services Ltd. |
| 33 | Caroline Hotel | 75 | J Browning Construction |
| 34 | Caroline Insurance | 76 | JH Trail Rides |
| 35 | Caroline Liquor Store | 77 | JP’s Video |
| 36 | Caroline Motel | 78 | Johnson VL Tree Farms |
| 37 | Caroline Motors Ltd. | 79 | KB Trails |
| 38 | Caroline Plumbing & Heating | 80 | Kendo Oilfield Services Ltd. |
| 39 | Caroline Shell Services | 81 | Kerr-McGee Canada Ltd. |
| 40 | Caroline Supplies Ltd. | 82 | Keyspan Energy Canada |
| 41 | Caroline Vacuum Services Ltd. | 83 | Larsgard Water Well Drilling |
| 42 | Caroline Variety New & Used | 84 | Lasting Impressions Hair Design |
| 85 | Lauzon’s Gazebos Ltd. | 127 | T. Graham Fencing & Rec. |
| 86 | Lazy M Ranch | 128 | Tarnasky Construction |
| 87 | Log-Ber Enterprises Inc. | 129 | Tay River Motel |
| 88 | Longbranch Saloon | 130 | Tay River Oilfield |
| 89 | MacKay & Partners Accountants | 131 | Taz Welding |
| 90 | McLean Lumber | 132 | Thelma McRae Catering |
| 91 | Meyers Norris Penny & Co. | 133 | Trails Unlimited |
| 92 | Mid Raven Oilfield Sevices Ltd. | 134 | Trans Canada Pipe Lines Ltd. |
| 93 | Michalsky Mechanic | 135 | Unicorn Treasures |
| 94 | NOVA Corporation | 136 | VL Johnson Tree Farms |
| 95 | Neals Quarter Horses | 137 | Vandermeer Ivan Trucking Ltd. |
| 96 | Northcott Harvey Rodeo’s | 138 | West Country Delivery |
| 97 | Novus Auto Glass Repair | 139 | West Country Honey Farms |
| 98 | Nutting Quarter Horses | 140 | Westside Liquor Store |
| 99 | Ogopogo Grader Service | 141 | Willigar & Sons |
| 100 | Paradis Brothers Lodging Ltd. | ||
| 101 | Paradis Pump Jack Maintenance | ||
| 102 | Pioneer General Store | ||
| 103 | Plant Ranch-Clearwater Mercantile | ||
| 104 | Primewest Management Inc. | ||
| 105 | Rafter EV Ranch | ||
| 106 | Raven Wear Canada Inc. | ||
| 107 | Reflections Floor Care | ||
| 108 | Ripper’s Welding/ Roseth Contracting | ||
| 109 | Robyn’s Hotshot & Piloting | ||
| 110 | Ross Ranch | ||
| 111 | Ryko Oilfields Sevices | ||
| 112 | SK Slashers | ||
| 113 | Sandy’s Treasures | ||
| 114 | Scott’s Tree Service | ||
| 115 | Sears Canada Inc. | ||
| 116 | Shell Canada Ltd. | ||
| 117 | Shining Bank Energy Ltd. | ||
| 118 | Silver Gates Café | ||
| 119 | Slager’s Painting Services | ||
| 120 | Sogar Resources Ltd. | ||
| 121 | South Ram Outfitters | ||
| 122 | Sportsman Inn & Tavern | ||
| 123 | Sportsman Inn Cafe | ||
| 124 | Stan Loomis Water Truck | ||
| 125 | Subtle Changes Tanning & Hair | ||
| 126 | TKO Backhoe & Gravel Hauling |
Resources
http://apps.business.ualberta.ca/rfield/supernet/caroline.htm
Business data sources include: Alberta Business-to-Business Directory, Albertafirst.com, WorldWeb Travel Guide (Discover Alberta), Google Search, Albertadirectory.com, Albertaswfirst.com, Crowsnest-highway.ca, and Superpages Telephone Directory