Mill Woods Timeline
1877
Treaty 6 negotiated with Chief Papaschase
1880-1884
40-square-mile Papaschase Reserve surveyed
1889
Papaschase Band disbanded
1894
Land in South Edmonton sold for $3/acre to European immigrants who farmed there
1969
Province secretly assembled 70% of the nine-square-mile area; private developers acquired remaining 30% when land assembly program was announced
1970
City of Edmonton changed zoning from low-density agricultural to general urban use and annexed land in County of Strathcona
1970-1971
Mill Woods Development Concept created
First lots in Richfield went on sale by lottery December 17, 1971
1972
Lee Ridge neighbourhood planning finalized; Kameyosek and Tipiskan in preliminary stages
1973
Grace Martin Elementary School built and over-crowded within its first year of operation
More than 100 people waited overnight in city hall for a chance to buy a lot.
Richfield I, the first public housing project for 100 units was approved after a tight debate by city council
1974
Judicial inquiry into land bank deals
Construction began on Grant MacEwan Community College campus
Keegano, Cree for ‘our home’, was the first housing co-op built in Edmonton, by the Sturgeon Valley Housing Cooperative following several years of planning
1976
Last third of Mill Woods land bank purchased by the City from the province
1977
Salvador Housing Co-op built
1978
33% of city’s growth was in Mill Woods; by 1980 that figure grew to 50% Mill Woods Cultural and Recreational Facility Association (MCARFA) incorporated
Increasing concerns about social problems in Mill Woods and lack of facilities Population in Mill Woods approached 30,000 residents
1979
Major road construction on 76th Ave from 39th St to 44A St, 92 Ave from 34th St to 50th St, Parsons Road from 25th Ave to 27th Ave, Whitemud Drive between Calgary Trail and 99th St, and 75th St, from 51st Ave to just south of Wagner Road
Plan for public and separate high school and two public junior high schools on one site with the Mill Woods Recreation Centre, a playing field and parking lot approved
Pipeline explosion March 2 11:55 am
1980
Lot values fell in Mill Woods due to high interest rates
1983
MCARFA opened Mill Woods golf course on former city dump
1985
Perception in some parts of Edmonton that Mill Woods had become a ghetto
1986
The Markaz-ul-Islam Mosque was the first mosque built by the South Asian Community in Edmonton
1987
Tornado hit parts of Mill Woods
72% of Mill Woods residents said it was the most appealing Edmonton neighbourhood; 57% of Edmonton residents said the least appealing
1988
Grey Nuns Hospital opened
Mill Woods Town Centre opened
1991
City earned $185M on sale of Mill Woods land
1994
Mill Woods threatened to split from the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues over Rec Centre ice time
Rally of 15,000 to save Grey Nuns the largest protest in Edmonton since the hunger marches drew more than 10,000 to the legislature in 1932
2000
Growing concerns about drug and gang related violence in Mill Woods
RAGE (Residents Against Gang Environments) formed