Rosebud, Alberta

Rosebud, Alberta is a hamlet in southern Alberta, Canada within Wheatland County. Previously an incorporated municipality, Rosebud dissolved from village status on January 1, 1946 to become part of the Municipal District of Grasswold No. 248.

Rosebud is located on Highway 840, approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of Calgary and 25 kilometres (16 mi) southwest of Drumheller. It sits in a sheltered valley on the Rosebud River near the edge of the Canadian Badlands. This area was called Akokiniskway by the Blackfoot people, which translates roughly to "by the river of many roses".

The hamlet was founded in the 1885 by James Wishart. While following the Gleichen Trail to Montana with his family, they awoke to the river valley covered by wild roses, Alberta's official flower. Wishart then reportedly said, "Here's the promised land, we go no further."

The beauty of the valley has attracted many people throughout the years, from nature lovers to artists. Notable artists A. Y. Jackson and H. G. Glyde, members of the Group of Seven, spent a summer in 1944 painting in the area.

Over the years, farming and coal mining have been the primary industries. In 1972 the Severn Creek School was shut down as part of an Alberta wide education consolidating process and local children were bused to Standard and Drumheller. This resulted in many of the local businesses being closed and the hamlet population dropped to under a dozen people. However, the farming community of around 400 still supported three elevators and a seed cleaning plant.

Easter 1973, a group of young adults from Calgary brought about 40 teenagers out and camped in the then empty mercantile. This pilot event evolved into a summer camp initially funded by a grant from the Alberta government and then supported as Rosebud Camp of the Arts by Crescent Heights Baptist Church in Calgary. In 1977 a high school was founded using the old buildings of the town as classrooms and emphasizing practical, visual, music and the performing arts in its curriculum. In the 1980s, Rosebud School of the Arts began to run theatre, which eventually developed into Rosebud Theatre and the school shifted its emphasis to post-secondary education.

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