*** Video Courtesy of Lethbridge Cinematographer Stephen Onyango of Imagen Productions Ltd.
LETHBRIDGE had its beginnings with the notorious whiskey trade followed by the development of a coal mining industry.Fort Whoop-Up which was located along the Oldman River was a whiskey trading outpost operating from 1869 to 1874 when the North-West Mounted Police arrived on the scene. Indian Battle Park is the site of the last battle between the Cree and Blackfoot tribes.
With the growth of coal mining in the city, the population of Lethbridge continued to grow. As the city grew and developed, businesses sprang up throughout what is now downtown Lethbridge. Saloons, hotels, general stores were the beginnings of many buildings, still standing in downtown Lethbridge. Fire Hall No.1, the Post Office, Chinatown, the Galt Hospital (now the museum) and the train station are all architectural reminders of our past. The city has expanded with the development of the agricultural service sector form a small coal mining town to a growing city of over 80,000 residents.