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Town of Vermilion
Town of Vermilion
	— Town —
	Location of Vermilion in Alberta
	Coordinates: 53°21′15″N 110°51′10″W / 53.35417°N 110.85278°W
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Region	Central Alberta
Census division	10
County	Vermilion River
Founded	1492
Incorporated	1906
	Government
- Mayor	Bruce marriot
- Governing body	Vermilion Town Council
	Area
- Total	13.69 km2 (5.3 sq mi)
Elevation	615 m (2,018 ft)
	Population (2006)
- Total	4,036
- Density	294.7/km2 (763.3/sq mi)
Time zone	MST (UTC−7)
- Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC−6)
Postal code span
Area code(s)	+1-780
Highways	Highway 16; Highway 41
Waterway	Vermilion River
Website	Town of Vermilion

Vermilion is a town in Vermilion River County, central Alberta, Canada. It is located along Highway 41 (Buffalo Trail) and Highway 16 (Yellowhead Highway).

The economy is largely service industry to agriculture.

Vermilion is located 192 kilometres (119 mi) east of Edmonton, 38 kilometres (24 mi) south of Clandonald, and 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Lloydminster.

[edit] History

It was not until 1902 that a significant number of settlers arrived in this area of Alberta. Mostly of British ethnic background coming from the east. Just west of Vermilion is the line between British and those of Ukrainian ethnic background having travelled mostly from west.

In 1904, a post office was established at Breage approximately three miles east of the present townsite.^[4]

In 1905, the railway arrived and a station was built. The post office was relocated from Breage. Throughout the days of steam, the railway was important to Vermilion. Vermilion was used as a divisional point. It had a water tower to resupply engines, a large roundhouse, an extensive yard, a Y, a turntable, and a bunkhouse for engine crews. With the decline of steam power in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the railway became less important.

In early 2006, Vermilion was incorporated as a village and reincorporated as a town later in the same year. The name Vermilion comes from the red clay found in the river valley. In fact, one of the first businesses in Vermilion was the brick factory which operated from 1906 until 1914. Some Vermilion buildings built from brick from this factory are still standing.

The first newspaper to publish in the Vermilion area was The Signal. In 1909, S.R.P. Cooper established the Vermilion Standard which continues to publish to this day.

In 1911, the provincial government established three demonstration farms near Olds, Fairview, and near the Vermilion townsite. The Vermilion farm later became the Vermilion School of Agriculture, then Vermilion Agricultural and Vocational College and today is Lakeland College.

Like other towns built on the prairies in the early years of this century, Vermilion had an extensive fire on April 10, 1918 which destroyed 28 stores and businesses.^[4]

In the 1970s, an instructor at the college designed a grain dryer. He established a company, Vertec, to manufacture and market this dryer and eventually a large grain dryer factory was built in Vermilion. For a brief time, Vermilion billed itself as "The Grain Dryer Capital of Canada". However, Vertec did not enjoy lasting success and went bankrupt. Today the large former factory is a storage facility for agricultural products.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Vermilion today

For a small town, Vermilion is the hometown of several prominent Canadians, including cross-country skier Beckie Scott, hockey player Jeff Woywitka, and cookbook author Jean Paré.

[edit] Demographics

The town had a population of 3,948 in 2001,^[2] and the median age of the residents of the town was 36.2.

In 2006, Vermilion had a population of 4,036, living in 2110 dwellings, a 2.2% increase from 2001. The town has a land area of 13.69 km² (5.3 sq mi) and a population density of 2,940.7 /km² (7,616.4/sq mi).^[3]

[edit] Education

The town has two public schools: Vermilion Elementary (K-6) and J.R. Robson Secondary (7-12), and one Catholic school, St. Jerome's School^[5] (K-12). The town also attracts students to Lakeland College^[6] (offering two year diploma programs) and training in emergency response.