Gibbons

Gibbons, Alta, incorporated as a town in 1977, population 3030 (2011c), 2642 (2006c). The Town of Gibbons is located 55 km northeast of Edmonton on the Sturgeon River. Gibbons is named in honour of William R. Gibbons, the first homesteader in the area in 1894. Gibbons originally developed as a stopping place on the Athabasca Landing Trail, which ran from Edmonton to Athabasca and was the major route into northern Alberta until the arrival of the railways. What remains of the trail now begins at Gibbons. A general store was constructed in 1915 but, due to wartime rationing, getting items for the store to sell took over 2 years. Gibbons developed as an agricultural service centre for the surrounding area, a function it still fulfils today. It is also a satellite community within the metropolitan area of Edmonton. Several original buildings are still extant in the town.