A Blackfoot legend has it that Napi (The Great Spirit) was strolling through what is now Waterton National Park when he loaned his coat to a large rock. He sent a coyote to retrieve it, but the rock refused to comply. When Napi went back to seize it himself, the enraged rock chased him across the prairie. Napi sought the aid of his animal friends and flocks of birds descended and chipped away at the rock, until a nighthawk struck it, and it fell where it lies today.

“Big Rock” is scientifically North America’s largest glacial erratic (rock/boulder not native to the area), deposited from the retreat of the last ice age 10,000 years ago. It is said to be from the Wisconsin glacier in the Jasper area and measures 40 by 18 by nine metres and weighs 18,000 tons. The plains bison used the rock as a rubbing stone. 

The buffalo-focused existence of the Blackfoot tribes was eventually replaced by commerce as trading posts sprang up in the area. Agricultural and lumber diversified into brick making. Economic success attracted more people, many of whom were lured by the town’s first promotion (1907’s "The Eldorado of South Alberta"), which extolled the virtues of a disease-free community.

Okotoks is steeped in history. Mrs. Tillotson caused the town’s first and last gold rush when many raced to stake their claims as far as a quarter mile east of the Sheep River Bridge after she found a gold nugget inside a goose while preparing evening dinner.

Okotoks telephone service operators were called the "hello girls." First installed in 1906, the switchboard closed in 1963 and the “hello girls” were phased out. With no "mixed" (gender) drinking holes in Calgary, Okotoks became a popular drinking spot in 1958.

Russian figure skaters stayed at the Willingdon Hotel during the 1988 Olympic Winter Games. Among them were Sergei Grinkov (who died of a heart attack at age 28) and Ekaterina Gordeeva (who wrote “My Sergei” in honor of their relationship).

In 1915, a flood carpeted Elizabeth/McRae Street. Two hundred flat cars of rock were brought in from Frank Slide in Crowsnest Pass and placed on the north side of the river one mile west of Okotoks. Locals referred to them as "white rocks," but they didn't prevent another flood crest in 1942.

The railway was a central focus of the community.

In 1908, backed up by the Okotoks Band, it was custom to welcome newlyweds at the train station. Chuckwagon races were also held at the station and became so famous that the trains would stay late so passengers could watch.

 By 1897, Okotoks changed its name three times: from Sheep Creek to Dewdney to Okotoks. John Lineham (the "father of Okotoks") assigned the last name on behalf of the railway. Lineham's sawmill (built in 1891) was a mainstay of the local economy. A community leader and former mayor, Lineham’s legacy lives on in Okotoks’ street names: Lineham, Martin (father-in-law), Elizabeth (daughter), and Elma (daughter).   NL