Lacombe at a Glance
Lacombe's Main Street, located at 50th Avenue, has been carefully maintained
to retain many of its features from the early 20th century. Edwardian buildings
cluster around where Main and the Canadian Pacific Railway meet, instantly conjuring
images of the time of Alberta's industrious traders and pioneers. The Flat
Iron House angles out from a seemingly impossibly narrow front and the Blacksmith
Shop Museum rings with the sounds of working forgers. Even Hollywood has
discovered Lacombe, its historic facade used for the television movie the Magic
of Ordinary Days and parts of the epic Brokeback Mountain.
Located in Alberta's Heartland
and with a population of 8,000, the town was named after Father Albert Lacombe,
a Canadian Oblate missionary who lived from 1827 to 1916. Father Lacombe is
well known for mediating peace between the Cree and Blackfoot and for negotiating
the construction of the CPR railway through native territory. Former governor
general Roland Michener was born in the town and his birthplace, Michener
House, still stands. Michener
Park is a popular gathering place and major venue for Lacombe
Days, celebrated in July.
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