Community Profile
Welcome to the Town of Nobleford
Nobleford is a modern vibrant growing community near the Canadian Rockies. Nobleford maintains quality city-like infrastructure such as paved streets and concrete sidewalks complimented by a 2 km long paved walking path that wanders through its parks, recreation facilities, natural environments and numerous interpretive sites.
In 2003, The Village of Nobleford was recognized as a pleasant, comfortable Village to live in but was facing sustainability issues. Property taxes were on the rise and there was a stagnant population of 615, and generally negative growth issues. The Village, economy and business growth, along with jobs in Nobleford were on the decline.
Since 2003, Nobleford has doubled its population, geographic size, and has successfully self-developed and sold over 200 new residential properties. With two manufacturers, one of which has expanded for the oil industry - building large tanks, and many other businesses locating in Nobleford, the employed workforce is 300.
Nobleford owns and operates a high quality water treatment facility and also provides water to regional pipelines. Nobleford property taxes have been consistently reduced annually to nearly half of 2005 levels, while maintaining healthy financial reserves, infrastructure and service. In a 2014 municipal spending report, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses rated Nobleford as the second most sustainable municipality in Alberta. In 2018, Nobleford was officially incorporated into a Town.
Climate
Nobleford has a moderate climate with warm summers. Winters are cool but are moderated by warm Chinook winds blowing from the west coast.
Economic Indicators
A major employer in Nobleford from the 1930s to 1998 was a cultivator factory established by Charles Noble, manufacturing variations of the Noble blade. With this history rooted in agricultural implement manufacturing, Nobleford has built on this to attract and sustain new agricultural manufacturing and service related businesses in the immediate region.
Health Care and Emergency Services
Nobleford has a volunteer fire and emergency services brigade consisting of 20 dedicated volunteers from all walks of life. Services mostly include fire, motor vehicle collision, medical, and other types of rescue responses. Our volunteer firefighters train to equivalent standards as paid career firefighters.
Doctors, hospitals and other health services are available in nearby Picture Butte or Lethbridge. Picture Butte, Alberta Health Services, Green Acres Foundation and Alberta Seniors have a unique agreement to provide health care in Nobleford. A wing of the Piyami Lodge is being renovated to house Urgent Care, Laboratory and X-ray services, Community Health and doctors’ offices. A new Supportive Housing annex is being added to the Piyami Lodge to replace 15 beds of the former hospital.
Recreation
For a community of its size, Nobleford has several high quality recreation amenities for its residents. Most of these amenities were financed with grants, community donations, and other innovative techniques rather than municipal tax dollars.
Town History
The impetus for the foundation and growth of Nobleford dates back to the turn of the century when J. W. McClain, a settler from California, pioneered west of the present village site. Dr. Charles Sherwood Noble, agricultural inventor, settled in the hamlet in 1908 and acted as a land agent with the CPR. An influx of pioneer farmers from the United States midwest, eastern Canada, and the Netherlands settled the prairie land south and west of Nobleford. It was in 1909 that the hamlet’s first house rose and the CPR. line was built as far north as Carmangay. By 1917, Nobleford had an enlarged four-room schoolhouse, a church, the C.S. Noble hardware business and six grain elevators. In 1918, with 100+ residents, Nobleford was incorporated as a village, with C. S. Noble as the first mayor. Electrification of the village came with the 1929 Calgary Power franchise. During the early post-war years, the village joined the Lethbridge School Division which built a ten-room brick school to accommodate 300 students in all primary and secondary grades. Commercially, 1949 saw the construction of the Nieboer Hardware Store, while in the early 1950s development and expansion of the Noble farm implement industry (stemming from the 1930s invention of the Noble Blade) was realized. As the company’s payroll grew, so did the village population, as well as the local facilities and amenities. The 1952/53 Public Works programs completed construction of a delivery and storage system, with gas and sewerage servicing following in 1956 and 1959 respectively. The Village Post Office was constructed in 1955, but has relocated in a new structure completed in 1982. A new village facility was developed in 2004 in partnership with the Nobleford Area Museum Society. Using the old Noble Factory Structure, the village office, museum and meeting room were added on Highway Avenue. In 2018 the Village of Nobleford became the Town of Nobleford.
