Tucked into the rolling farmland of central Alberta, roughly 160 kilometres northeast of Calgary, Torrington sits at the crossroads of Highway 27 and Highway 805 within the boundaries of Kneehill County. The hamlet falls within Census Division No. 5 and is part of the federal riding of Crowfoot. Agriculture has long been the backbone of the local economy, reflecting the character of the wider region that surrounds it. Once incorporated as a village, Torrington saw a change in its administrative status in 1997, when it dissolved into hamlet status under the jurisdiction of Kneehill County.
Despite its small footprint of just 0.4 square kilometres, Torrington recorded a population of 239 residents in the 2021 Census, representing a notable increase of nearly 19% from the 201 people counted in 2016. That works out to a population density of roughly 597.5 people per square kilometre. The community is perhaps best known for its quirky dedication to the humble ground squirrel. The Gopher Hole Museum draws curious visitors with its collection of stuffed Richardson’s ground squirrels posed in elaborate anthropomorphic taxidermy scenes. A towering 12-foot outdoor sculpture named Clem T. GoFur stands as a larger-than-life local landmark, and all 11 of Torrington’s fire hydrants have been painted to resemble gophers, giving the hamlet a distinctly playful character all its own.