Chin, Alberta

Chin
Hamlet
Chin
Location of Chin
Chin
Chin (Canada)
Coordinates: 49°45′48″N 112°26′45″W / 49.76333°N 112.44583°W / 49.76333; -112.44583
CountryCanada
ProvinceAlberta
RegionSouthern Alberta
Census division2
Municipal districtLethbridge County
Government
 • TypeUnincorporated
 • Governing bodyLethbridge County Council
Area
 (2021)[1]
 • Land0.09 km2 (0.035 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[1]
 • Total
83
 • Density916.1/km2 (2,373/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC−07:00 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−06:00 (MDT)
Area codes403, 587, 825

Chin is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within Lethbridge County.[2] It is located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) north of Highway 3, approximately 27 kilometres (17 mi) east of Lethbridge.

Toponymy

Chin derives its name from a nearby hill, Chin Butte.[3][4] The hill was so named because, when viewed from a distance, it resembled a chin to surveyors from the Geological Survey of Canada in 1884.[3][5][6] In the Blackfoot language, the hill is called mísstoan ("beard").[6][7]

History

Before settlement

A 1975 archaeological investigation found two sites of interest near Chin, overlooking Chin Coulee.[8] One contained 48 stone features ranging from tipi rings to hearths, suggesting the area was used frequently by Indigenous peoples for short-term camping purposes.[8] Projectile points at this site were dated as early as 3,200 BCE, while butchered animal bones suggested winter occupation around the year 479 CE.[8]

Founding and development: 1893-1969

The Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) established a stop in the area in 1893.[4] A Chin post office opened in 1910, a grain elevator was opened by Pioneer Grain (late Richardson International) by the end of the decade.[9][10]

Chin was prospected for oil in 1928, but the settlement developed primarily into an agrarian economy.[11][12] By the mid-1930s, Chin contained three grain elevators, operated by the Alberta Wheat Pool, Ellison Milling Co., and the Alberta Pacific Grain Company.[13] Pioneer Grain had ceased to operate in the area.[13]

After struggling to find a permanent postmaster throughout the decade of the 1950s, Chin's post office closed in April 1960.[9]

Lassiter Project: 1945-51

One of Chin's most prominent early residents was Oscar Bruce Lassiter (1886 – 1977), who moved there from Gatesville, North Carolina in 1917.[14][15] His farm grew to be one of the largest in Alberta by World War II, leveraging sustainable practices such as strip farming and becoming the first in Canada to use Caterpillar diesel tractors.[15][16][17] Lassiter also gained provincial recognition as a campaign speaker for William Aberhart in the early 1930s.[15]

In 1947, the Government of Alberta hired Lassiter to clear over 100,000 acres near Wanham and Eaglesham, to be used as farming plots by returning WWII veterans.[18][19][20][21] The Lassiter Project's costs exceeded expectations, bankrupting Lassiter's company and resulting in less uptake by veterans than anticipated.[20][21] Using dry farming techniques, Lassiter's agricultural operations in Chin recovered by 1951.[22]

Recent development: 1970-present

Most residences in Chin were introduced during the 1940s and 1950s; as of 2020, few new homes in Chin date from a time after the 1960s.[12] The hamlet subsequently developed into a suburb for farmers and workers serving existing agricultural operations in the area.[12] Chin's last grain elevators, originally built by Alberta Pacific Grain and the Ellison Milling Company respectively, were demolished in 2008.[12]

Lethbridge County conducted a growth study of the hamlets of Chin and Kipp in 2020.[12] Later, in 2023, the county amended its bylaws to allow residents of Chin and other hamlets to keep a limited number of livestock on residential properties.[23]

Demographics

Population history
of Chin
YearPop.±%
198135—    
198622−37.1%
199120−9.1%
199623+15.0%
200135+52.2%
200645+28.6%
201148+6.7%
201662+29.2%
202183+33.9%
Source: Statistics Canada
[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][1]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Chin had a population of 83 living in 21 of its 21 total private dwellings, a change of 33.9% from its 2016 population of 62. With a land area of 0.09 km2 (0.035 sq mi), it had a population density of 922.2/km2 (2,388.5/sq mi) in 2021.[1]

As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Chin had a population of 62 living in 19 of its 19 total private dwellings, a change of 29.2% from its 2011 population of 48. With a land area of 0.08 km2 (0.031 sq mi), it had a population density of 775.0/km2 (2,007.2/sq mi) in 2016.[31]

Religion

As of 2026, the Peace Valley Mennonite Church of Chin offers regular services.[12][32][33] Sermons are delivered in Low German.[32]

Services

Chin receives potable water via a pipeline from Lethbridge.[12] As of 2020, Chin does not receive municipal sewer services, and roads in the hamlet are unpaved with gravel surfaces.[12]

Economy

As of 2020, Chin's residents are primarily engaged in agriculture.[12]

The Canadian Pacific Railway maintains freight services to Chin as of 2026.[34] Utilizing the hamlet's rail connections, the J. R. Simplot Company opened a fertilizer distribution facility in Chin in 2015.[35][36] This location's storage capacity was expanded in 2019.[36]

McCain Foods, which operates a French fry processing plant in the area as of 2025, doubled the capacity of its Chin site in 2023.[37][38] In 2024, McCain entered into an agreement with a renewable power developer to power its plant via wind and solar energy.[39]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved February 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "Specialized and Rural Municipalities and Their Communities" (PDF). Alberta Municipal Affairs. June 3, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Alberta Culture (January 3, 2025). "Chin". Alberta Geographical Names Web Map. Text visible upon selecting the yellow circle. The locality is named for a nearby butte. A post office was opened here in 1910; the first postmaster was W.H. Lust. (See Chin Butte.)
  4. ^ a b Aubrey, Merrily K., ed. (2006). Concise place names of Alberta. Calgary: University of Calgary Press. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-55238-210-3.
  5. ^ Donovan, Larry; Monto, Tom (January 24, 2007). Alberta Place Names: The Fascinating People and Stories Behind the Naming of Alberta. Dragon Hill Publishing. pp. 41–42. ISBN 978-1-896124-11-7.
  6. ^ a b Alberta Culture (January 3, 2025). "Chin Butte". Alberta Geographical Names Web Map. Text visible upon selecting the yellow circle. The butte was given this name because it looked like a chin from a distance. It was recorded as The Chin on an 1884 GSC map. The Blackfoot call the butte mísstoan, meaning "beard," which is also a descriptive name. The name was approved in 1970.
  7. ^ "Blackfoot - English thesaurus dictionary: mísstoan". Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  8. ^ a b c Government of Alberta (January 1, 1979). "Archaeology in southern Alberta : excavations at Writing-on-Stone. Archaeology in southern Alberta : stone circles at Chin Coulee". Open Government. p. 11. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  9. ^ a b Canada, Library and Archives (November 25, 2016). "Chin Archives / Post Offices and Postmasters". recherche-collection-search.bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  10. ^ Trade and Commerce, Department of (1920). List of licensed elevators and warehouses in the Western Grain Inspection Division (License year 1919-1920). Government of Canada. p. 101.
  11. ^ "Wainwright Oil Activity Slack". Calgary Daily Herald. March 22, 1928. p. 19.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lethbridge County (April 1, 2020). Hamlets of Chin & Kipp Growth Study (PDF). Lethbridge: Oldman River Regional Services Commission. pp. 5–18.
  13. ^ a b Trade and Commerce, Department of (1935). List of grain elevators in the Western and Eastern Divisions (License year 1934-1935). Ottawa: Government of Canada. p. 128.
  14. ^ Hopkins, Johnny (December 29, 1965). "Johnny Hopkins Reports". Calgary Herald. p. 21.
  15. ^ a b c "Remarkable Albertans". Calgary Herald. July 1, 2017. pp. A6.
  16. ^ "Howson Wants Police Files in Two Cases". The Edmonton Bulletin. Hosted by Internet Archive. April 12, 1934. p. 2 – via University of Alberta Library.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  17. ^ Society, Wrentham Historical (1980). Homestead Country: Wrentham and Area. Wrentham Historical Society. p. 604. ISBN 978-0-88925-014-7.
  18. ^ "1947 Was Year Of Importance In Provincial Administration". The Edmonton Bulletin. December 31, 1947. p. 3 – via University of Alberta Library.
  19. ^ SPRA. "Fonds 587 Lassiter Project Collection fonds". South Peace Regional Archives. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  20. ^ a b "A History of the Euro-Canadian Settlement Period - The Lassiter or Wanham Project". Saddle Hills County. Archived from the original on January 22, 2025. Retrieved January 25, 2026. [The Lassiter Project] contracted Lassiter's Limited to clear 100,000 acres of land [that] was pre-selected for soil quality and designated as soldier's land. Soldiers could then obtain this land through the provincial lease system with federal financial assistance. Lassiter intended to recover the cost of clearing... by collecting one-third of the crop grown for seven years [but the] costs of clearing and breaking the land bankrupted the company.
  21. ^ a b SPRA. "Fonds 137 Donaldson family collection". South Peace Regional Archives. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  22. ^ "Farming Big Business For Alberta Man; Costs Him $2000 Daily To Plant Crop". Crossfield Chronicle. Vol. 3, no. 7. July 6, 1951. p. 3.
  23. ^ Goulet, Justin (March 7, 2023). "Lethbridge County Council approves changes to Animal Control Bylaw". Lethbridge News Now. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  24. ^ 1981 Census of Canada (PDF). Place name reference list. Vol. Western provinces and the Territories. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1983. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  25. ^ 1986 Census of Canada (PDF). Population. Vol. Unincorporated Places. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1988. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  26. ^ 91 Census (PDF). Population and Dwelling Counts. Vol. Unincorporated Places. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1993. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  27. ^ 96 Census (PDF). A National Overivew: Population and Dwelling Counts. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. 1997. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  28. ^ "Population and Dwelling Counts, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, and Census Divisions, 2001 and 1996 Censuses - 100% Data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. August 15, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  29. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2006 and 2001 censuses - 100% data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. July 20, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  30. ^ "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2011 and 2006 censuses (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2012. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  31. ^ a b "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and designated places, 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Alberta)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  32. ^ a b "PEACE VALLEY CHURCH OF CHIN - Home". www.peacevalleychurch.ca. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  33. ^ Obituaries, Lethbridge Herald (November 20, 2014). "Thursday, November 20, 2014". The Lethbridge Herald. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  34. ^ Canadian Pacific Kansas City. "Connecting a continent". CPKCR.com. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  35. ^ News Release, Simplot (May 29, 2018). "Luke Burton Named To Manage Simplot's Activities In Western Canada". www.agrimarketing.com. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  36. ^ a b The Star (January 31, 2019). "Simplot Expands Operations in Western Canada". Cardston Temple City Star. p. 2.
  37. ^ Price, Greg (July 10, 2025). "McCain Foods looks for new processing potatoes". The Western Producer.
  38. ^ Bedard, Dave (March 13, 2023). "McCain to double Alberta french fry plant capacity". Alberta Farmer Express. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
  39. ^ @MedicineHatNews (September 10, 2024). "Potato plant seeks approval to build windmills on site". Medicine Hat News. Retrieved January 25, 2026.
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