The name of the post office, established in 1915, honours R. I. Mayer, the first postmaster. "Thorpe" is from the Old English for hamlet or village.[6]
Mayerthorpe incorporated as a village on March 5, 1927.[1] It then incorporated as a town just over 34 years later on March 20, 1961.[1]
On July 29, 2008, the Mayerthorpe Arena was destroyed by a fire. In 2011, after three years of planning and fundraising, the new arena, now called the Mayerthorpe Exhibition Centre, was officially opened.[7]
In 2016, a string of suspicious fires in the area resulted in the destruction of a CN trestle bridge.[8] The bridge was rebuilt shortly thereafter, in about twenty days.[9]
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Mayerthorpe had a population of 1,259 living in 511 of its 572 total private dwellings, a change of -4.6% from its 2016 population of 1,320. With a land area of 4.39 km2 (1.69 sq mi), it had a population density of 286.8/km2 (742.8/sq mi) in 2021.[3]
In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Town of Mayerthorpe recorded a population of 1,320 living in 540 of its 600 total private dwellings, a -5.6% change from its 2011 population of 1,398. With a land area of 4.37 km2 (1.69 sq mi), it had a population density of 302.1/km2 (782.3/sq mi) in 2016.[10]
Media
The local weekly newspaper serving Mayerthorpe and area is the Mayerthorpe Freelancer.[11]
Sports
The Whitecourt Wild Senior "AA" ice hockey team was added to the North Central Hockey League in 2013. The team plays in the Mayerthorpe Exhibition Centre.[12]