Barons is a village in southern Alberta, Canada in a region referred to as Palliser's Triangle. It is located 51 km north of Lethbridge along Highway 23. Barons was a filming location for a scene in the 1978 film Superman; the village's school was used to represent the school that young Clark Kent (the future Superman) attended.

History

The Canadian Pacific Railway purchased the present townsite of Barons in early 1909. Charles S. Noble, an agent for the CPR sold lots to settlers. The train station was originally named "Baron", but public usage eventually evolved to "Barons". Barons became a village on May 6, 1910, and early buildings included a hardware store, a grocery store, lumber yards, a bank, a feedmill, a dance hall, an opera house and a hotel. The Village of Barons was subject to a study in 2004 that investigated dissolution of the village to hamlet status under the jurisdiction of the County of Lethbridge. The last two grain elevators were demolished in the summer of 2012.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village of Barons had a population of 313 living in 127 of its 148 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2016 population of 341. With a land area of 0.81 km2, it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village of Barons recorded a population of 341 living in 132 of its 148 total private dwellings, a change of NaN% from its 2011 population of 315. With a land area of 0.81 km2, it had a population density of in 2016.

Government

The village is governed by a council comprising a mayor and two councillors.

Infrastructure

Barons' wastewater drains to a sewage lagoon 0.5 km west of the village. Water is supplied via a 16 km regional pipeline between Barons and the Village of Nobleford. The pipeline is a joint venture between Nobleford, Barons and the County of Lethbridge (NBC) in partnership with the province of Alberta through its "Water for Life" program.

Services

High speed wireless Internet access is available from multiple providers.