Prince Albert National Park is located 51 km (32 mi) north of the city and contains a wealth of lakes, forest, and wildlife.

[8] James Isbister, an Anglo-Métis employee of the Hudson's Bay Company, settled on the site of the current city in 1862.

The community received a boost in 1866 when Reverend James Nisbet, a Canada Presbyterian Church minister arrived to establish a mission for the Cree.

[4][12] In 1884, Honore Jaxon and James Isbister were involved in the movement which brought Louis Riel back to Canada.

In the North-West Rebellion of the 1885, Prince Albert Volunteers bore the heaviest casualties of the fighting at the Battle of Duck Lake.

Surrounding settlers took refuge with the North-West Mounted Police in a hastily improvised stockade at Prince Albert, fearing an attack by Gabriel Dumont, which never came.

After the Battle of Batoche, Major General Frederick Middleton marched to Prince Albert to relieve the town.

Prince Albert was the capital of the District of Saskatchewan, a regional administrative division of what then constituted the North-West Territories.

The forests north of the city, especially those containing Jack Pine are infected with Dwarf Mistletoe and various projects have been undertaken to stop the spread of this parasitic plant.

In the past these creeks have been known to dry up allowing farmers to cut hay, but in recent years these waterways have been overfilling due to large amounts of winter run-off and increase of the water table.

Claims have also been made of various types of marine fossils including oysters, clams, corals and other invertebrates are to be found mixed in fossil matrixes just east of the city near the small village of Love[20] The bedrock geology is a part of the phanerozoic basin and belongs to the Lea Park and Milk River Formation.

After being established as a mission centre, the main impetus for growth was speculation that the Transcontinental Railway would travel north from the Red River Valley along Hind's fertile belt through to Edmonton.

The major contributing factor to this is the role of Prince Albert as a retail and service centre to these northern communities.

Diamond exploration is currently occurring east of the city in the Fort à la Corne region and it is expected a mine may go up around 2010–2011.

The Prince Albert region is one of the richest areas in the province for agriculture, and with the current emphasis on bio-fuel technology from the provincial and federal governments, it is expected that this economic sector will grow.

There is speculation that, due to the proximity the uranium mining in northern Saskatchewan, the area could be ideal for a value-added type of business.

Chief Joseph Custer, Kistapinanihk 231, Northern Lights 220, Muskoday 99 and Wahpeton 94B Indian Reserves are within 20 km (12 mi) of the city.

Porter) Heritage Nursery, Keyhole Castle, LaColle Falls Hydroelectric Dam, Oldest Downtown Store, Prince Albert Arts Centre and The Cathedral Church of St. Alban the Martyr (Anglican).

[44] Other points of interest include: The city is home to the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League.

[48] Prince Albert was the host for the following notable sporting events: The first hospital was constructed in 1899, followed by a maternity home built in 1945 which lasted approximately twelve years.

This has long been a subject of concern in the region, especially in light of a partial closure of the bridge in August 2011 that occurred when cracks were found during an inspection.

The Canadian Pacific Railway branched off at Lanigan moving north up to Hagen, then under trackage rights with CN, and curved towards the northeast end of Prince Albert.

CPR sold the Meadow Lake line to CN, and abandoned the Meath Park branch up to Choiceland.

As grain storage and sorting technology improved over the years, a state of the art Inland elevator was built, located north of Prince Albert.

The engines primarily used by CN at the time were GMD1s for short haul and yard shunting, and EMD SD40-2W/EMD SD40-2s for long-haul trips.

Carlton Trail has recently discussed abandoning several parts of the shortline due to increasing costs and poor track condition.

[54] In 2001 CTRW announced the abandonment of the Birch Hills branch line, but the city of Prince Albert intervened, citing the possibility of an ethanol plant.

On June 20, 2001, the entire length of SK 11 was re-named the Louis Riel Trail at a ceremony which took place at the Duck Lake Regional Interpretive Centre.

Glass Field Airport has regular flights to Saskatoon and Regina and serves as an access point to communities and mining operations north of Prince Albert.

Anglican Bishop John McLean opened Emmanuel College on November 1, 1879, the first university of the District of Saskatchewan.