Country Canada Municipal district Lac La Biche County Time zone MST (UTC-7) Area 194 ha Local time Tuesday 1:05 AM | Census division No. 12 Settled 1905 Elevation 555 m Population 345 (2011) Province Alberta | |
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Weather -9°C, Wind E at 5 km/h, 61% Humidity | ||
Plamondon is a hamlet in northern Alberta, Canada within Lac La Biche County. It is located on Highway 858, approximately 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) north of Highway 55, and has an elevation of 555 metres (1,821 ft).
Contents
Map of Plamondon, AB, Canada
The hamlet is located in census division No. 12 and in the federal riding of Fort McMurray-Athabasca.
History
The community was founded by Joseph Plamondon in 1908 and settled by primarily French Canadians. Most of the families that eventually settled there came from Provemont, Michigan (now Leelanau County, Michigan) and from French areas of Ontario.
On the outskirts of Plamondon is a community of Old Believers (Old Ritualists), a Traditionalist Russian Orthodox sect whose ancestors broke from the Church after Patriarch Nikon's reforms in 1666. The schism, or Raskol, resulted over reforms in church ritual and translation intended to better align the Russian church with Greek Orthodox practices. The Old Believers that live outside Plamondon are bezpopovtsy, or priestless Old Believers, who believe that apostolic succession ended with Nikon's apostasy and therefore have no clergy and refuse the Eucharist. Most of these families moved to the area in the mid 1970s from Woodburn, Oregon, also home to a large Old Believer community. Many also came from Xinjiang, China, by way of New Zealand, where they fled after the Communist revolutions in Russia and China.
Demographics
As a designated place in the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Plamondon recorded a population of 348 living in 136 of its 172 total private dwellings, a change of 6999900000000000000♠0.9% from its 2011 population of 345. With a land area of 1.96 km2 (0.76 sq mi), it had a population density of 177.6/km2 (459.9/sq mi) in 2016.
Lac La Biche County's 2016 municipal census counted a population of 348 in Plamondon, a 7000120000000000000♠1.2% change from the hamlet's 2013 municipal census population of 344.
As a designated place in the 2011 Census, Plamondon had a population of 345 living in 135 of its 147 total dwellings, a 3% change from its 2006 population of 335. With a land area of 1.94 km2 (0.75 sq mi), it had a population density of 177.8/km2 (460.6/sq mi) in 2011.
Economy
The main industries in the region are logging and farming.
Amenities
The community has two schools, Ecole Beausejour and Ecole Plamondon School, which draw students from the entire region. École Plamondon School, offers English, French immersion, and Russian classes. École Beausejour is a francophone school, with instruction surrounding with the francophone culture.
There are two hotels, two banks, post office, indoor hockey arena with artificial ice, a museum, and a rather large church.
The hamlet also holds an annual French hockey tournament called Hockey en Fête. Frontenacs of University of Alberta have won twice. A Canadian Mud Racing Organization (CMRO) event is also held annually at the Plamondon Mud Bog.