Pincher Creek, Alta, Town, pop 3625 (2006c), 3666 (2001c), inc 1906. Pincher Creek is located in southwestern Alberta at the eastern edge of the ROCKY MOUNTAINS. It was established in 1878 as a NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE post and farm on Pincher's Creek. The creek received its name after a pair of pincers (a tool used to trim horses' hooves) was found along its banks. In the 1880s several police retired there to ranch. In the heart of the large ranch leases, the community served as the commercial centre for the Walrond, Roodee and Alberta ranches. In 1882 the townsite was laid out by Charles Kettles, a Department of Indian Affairs employee and later a rancher in the area. The first store was constructed in 1883 and the town itself incorporated in 1906. T. Lebel and Company, based in Pincher Creek, became the largest merchandising concern in southern Alberta. Timothee Lebel's mansion (1910) is one of the most noteworthy buildings in town and currently home to the Allied Arts Council. In the early 1900s wheat farming and in the 1940s natural gas processing became critical additions to the economic base.

Today, Pincher Creek's founding economic drivers as well as WIND ENERGY and tourism are key underpinnings to the town's future growth. The wind farms, the town's proximity to WATERTON LAKES NATIONAL PARK and its cultural and historical sites are all being promoted as tourist attractions.