About

Photo by John Graham

Photo by John Graham

Torrington, AB

Torrington is a hamlet in central Alberta, Canada within Kneehill County. It is located approximately 160 km northeast of Calgary at the junction of Highway 27 and Highway 805.

The community is home to the World Famous Gopher Hole Museum, dedicated to stuffed Richardson's ground squirrels (technically not gophers) in anthropomorphic taxidermy settings.

A very large outdoor gopher sculpture (12 ft high) named "Clem T. GoFur" is located in the village.

All 11 of Torrington's fire hydrants were painted to look like gophers.


Located west of the intersection of Highway 27 and Highway 805.

Known for its Gopher Hole Museum, the community also has a small campground and picnic area, a community hall, arena, and some commercial services.

In 1929, the Canadian Pacific Railway came to the place that would become Torrington. Two grain elevators and a blacksmith shop were built that same year. More businesses sprang up and a Chamber of Commerce was established in 1931.

Source: Footprints on Mi-Chig-Wun

In 1997, the Village of Torrington dissolved to become part of Kneehill County.

In 2017, the tv show Heartland came to Torrington to film one of their episodes and it was shown in November 2017. You can imagine the excitement this caused! The World Famous Gopher Hole museum was prominently featured.