[8] In 1899, the ARCC built another narrow gauge railway from Lethbridge, Alberta to Great Falls, Montana through the Coutts-Sweetgrass border crossing, closely following the route of the old Whoop-up Trail.

[9] Originally this railway was not built to promote colonization, but to open additional markets for Galt Coal in Montana.

At that time, there were no people or buildings in the region, with the exception of station employees who lived in the section houses along the railway.

Alberta Railway and Coal Company liked how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) was implementing irrigation in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah and nearby Cardston, Alberta.

[citation needed] In 1899, it was decided to call upon the LDS Church to help colonize the area.

With the arrival of irrigation on November 14, 1899,[11] the Village of Stirling quickly developed adjacent to the ARCC and station house.

Today, the St. Mary's Main Canal is 312 km long and continues to be a vital source of irrigated water for much of Southern Alberta.

On May 5, 1899, a small band of 30 Mormon settlers led by Theodore Brandley of Richfield, Utah, arrived at Stirling station, they were greeted by Charles Ora Card of Cardston.

The day after his arrival, Brandley with the help of Card inspected and planned out the new town site of Stirling.

[13] Whereas, Joseph Smith's ideal Plat of Zion, planned for the town's square or business center and civic buildings to be located at the centre of the settlement, surrounded by large residential lots, giving residents enough room for a house, barn and shelters for animals.

These canals were used up until 1968 when the village of Stirling public works installed fresh drinking water and sewer lines to each property.

[7] Stirling is one of only two communities that owed its existence to a partnership between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Charles A. Magrath of the Alberta Railway & Coal Company.

[14] Construction of the St. Mary Railway, beginning in Stirling and ending in Cardston began in 1900 and was finished in 1902.

Stirling had now become an important railway junction in Southern Alberta with rail lines from north, south, east and west.

Maybutt slowly died off making it a forgotten ghost town with few original buildings remaining.

[18] In recent years homes have been moved into Maybutt as small hobby farms and acreages.

Three quarters of a mile north east of town stands a 200 foot tall concrete terminal grain elevator.

Stirling has a variety of businesses[22] and recreation, such as a convenience store, a wooden crib grain elevator now used as a hemp plant, a truck and tractor dealer, a pool, a community-owned campground, and a library, two museums and a community park known as Centennial Park.

Stirling's recreational facilities[30] include ball parks, a swimming pool and water slides, a tennis court, a community centre with large picnic area, playgrounds, rodeo grounds, fish pond, cafe, Bed & breakfast, and library.

At the east entrance of Main Street (1 Ave & 4 St.) is a newly built information kiosk made to replicate that of an older pioneer home found throughout Stirling and area.

The Galt Historic Railway Park located 1 km north of Stirling is another popular museum which displays the life and travel of the late 1880s to early 1920s in the restored 1890 North-West Territories International Train Station from Coutts, Alberta, Canada, and Sweetgrass, Montana, USA.

Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park, 44 km east of Milk River, is one of the largest areas of protected prairie in the Alberta park system, and serves as both a nature preserve and protection for the largest concentration of rock art, created by Plains People.

[citation needed] Stirling is served by a number of regional newspapers including the Westwind Weekly, Lethbridge Herald, and Prairie Post.