Whitecourt, Alta, Town, pop 8334 (2001c), 7783 (1996c), 6938 (1991c), 5737 (1986c), area 26.14 km2, inc 1959, is located near the confluence of the McLeod and Athabasca rivers, 177 km NW of Edmonton. The Grand Trunk Ry survey led to this spot in 1903, and although the railway did not immediately follow, the survey line facilitated the emergence of a tiny settlement named Saquitawah (Cree for "meeting of the waters"). The community, composed mainly of trappers, was soon renamed Whitecourt after Walter White, who delivered mail to the district from Greencourt until a post office was established in 1910.
With the building of the first of 3 sawmills in 1919, and the arrival of Canadian National Rys 2 years later, Whitecourt became a major lumbering centre. Oil and gas discoveries in the region, and the completion of Highway 43 in the mid-1950s brought further growth, and in 1971 Whitecourt was incorporated as a town. Recent developments (eg, a new pulp mill and a medium-density fibre-board plant at Blue Ridge, 30 km E) have increased Whitecourt's stature in the forestry industry.