Rochfort Bridge

For the village in Ireland, see Rochfortbridge.

Rochfort Bridge is a hamlet in Alberta, Canada within Lac Ste. Anne County.^[2] It is located approximately 105 kilometres (65 mi) northwest of Edmonton and 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) east of Mayerthorpe. Rochfort Bridge is named for Cooper (Cowper) Rochfort, who with his associate, Percy Michaelson, homesteaded on the Paddle River at the point where the old trail from Lac Ste. Anne to the MacLeod River crossed the Paddle River.^[3]

Rochfort Bridge
Hamlet
The Rochfort Trestle Bridge
Rochfort Bridge Location within Alberta Show map of Alberta Rochfort Bridge Location within Canada Show map of Canada Rochfort Bridge Location within North America Show map of North America
Coordinates: 53.912309°N 115.04258°W / 53.912309; -115.04258
Country	Canada
Province	Alberta
Municipal district	Lac Ste. Anne County
Population  (2008)[1]
• Total	71

One of North America’s longest wooden train trestles is located just east of the hamlet, which crosses over the Paddle River valley and Highway 43. Rochfort Bridge Trestle was built in 1919 by Canadian Northern Railway.

History

A farm near Rochfort Bridge and Mayerthorpe was the site of the Mayerthorpe tragedy on March 3, 2005, in which four officers of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police were shot and killed in a raid on a marijuana drug operation.^[4]

On December 5, 2019, a fire broke out in a home inside the hamlet. In the early morning hours of December 6, fire crews announced a body had been discovered, and later on after a more extensive search, four more bodies had been discovered. Two adults, Marvin and Janet Gibbs, and their three grandchildren all were killed in the fire.^[5]

Demographics

Population history
of Rochfort Bridge

Year	Pop.	±%
1941	87	—
1951	132	+51.7%
1956	101	−23.5%
1961	85	−15.8%
1966	77	−9.4%
1971	63	−18.2%
1976	69	+9.5%
1981	62	−10.1%
1986	72	+16.1%
1991	81	+12.5%
Source: Statistics Canada [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]

The population of Rochfort Bridge according to the 2008 municipal census conducted by Lac Ste. Anne County is 71.^[1]

Notable people

• Peter Trynchy – Canadian politician, Progressive Conservative MLA (1971-2001) and cabinet minister

See also

• List of communities in Alberta
• List of hamlets in Alberta