Namao () is a hamlet in central Alberta, Canada within Sturgeon County. It is at the intersection of Highway 37 and Highway 28, approximately north of Edmonton's city limits. It was the namesake of RCAF Station Namao, now CFB Edmonton, which is directly south of the hamlet.
History On August 22, 1891, the Edmonton Bulletin reported that, "The Sturgeon river settlers had been requesting a post office since May 3, 1884. They had wanted to call it Wilson Valley at first, then Sturgeon and finally Naoma (Namao)." It opened on April 12, 1892. According to Wilfred McLean, Dan [McKinley, who took up one of the first Sturgeon homesteads in the early 1880s] insisted on the name; "[He] had associated with the Indians for quite a few years and knew quite a few Cree words.",copies of "The Story of Malcolm McKinlay (1848-1934), Pioneer of the West, Arrived in Edmonton 1883, One Hundred Years ago" by Wilfred McLean (Grandson); copies held by McKinlay descendants, p. 21 The name is derived from the Cree word (), meaning "sturgeon".
On May 19, 1892, Postmaster J. Johnstone wrote that Nemao' is the correct spelling of the name of the post office in the Sturgeon river settlement."
Demographics The population of Namao according to the 2010 municipal census conducted by Sturgeon County is 10.
Climate
See also List of communities in Alberta List of hamlets in Alberta
References