Whitewood, Saskatchewan

Whitewood is a town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located approximately 175 kilometers east of Regina on the Trans-Canada Highway. It is situated at the crossroads of two major highways systems – the Trans-Canada, which runs east and west, and Highway #9, which runs north and south from the US border to Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan. Located midway between Brandon and Regina, Whitewood was and continues to be an ideal place to stop and rest and is the only community between those two cities with services available 24-hours.

History

Where Whitewood now stands was once grasslands, travelled only by nomadic First Nations people, white traders, trappers and buffalo hunters. Native plants and wildlife thrived in perfect balance. The people who followed the trails between the Valley of the Qu'Appelle and the Pipestone Creek left no more permanent marks on the landscape than the tracks of their Red River carts.

Before the settlement of the west, Whitewood began as a crossing of trails between the Qu'Appelle Valley to the north and the Moose Mountains to the south. From that humble start grew the community of today, named for the clumps of white poplars that shaded weary travellers.

With the settlement of the west and the coming of the Trans-Continental railway, Whitewood quickly grew into a thriving community. By 1882, the town of Whitewood, Assiniboia, Northwest Territories was a major stop on the Canadian Pacific Railway. The town grew steadily from that time and was incorporated as a town in 1892. An interesting note is that while the Town Seal has "Incorporated 1893" on it the actual incorporation took place on December 30th, 1892.

Community

Settlers from many lands came to the area and the multi-national character of the community is seen in the names of the residents to this day. The first Finnish settlement in the west is located here, and Hungarians, Swedes, Germans, Poles, Russians, Czechs, English, Scottish & Irish, also made Whitewood their destination in the new world. To quote a prominent writer of that period, John Hawkes, "Whitewood was in the eighties (1880s) the most cosmopolitan point in the west. It came to be a saying that one should know eleven languages to do business in Whitewood."

One of the most unusual and glamorous settlements was that of the French Counts of St. Hubert. Headed by the educated Dr Rudolph Meyer, this group of Belgian and French aristocrats aimed to build a life on the Canadian prairies in the style of the French nobility in Europe. Remains of this settlement still exist and many residents of the community are proud of their connection to the Most Romantic Settlement in the West.

Of Historical Note

* Whitewood Resident R.S. Park travelled to Winnipeg with Louis Riel and a delegation of natives in 1883 to protest the seizure of lands and ask for support from Archbishop Tache at S. Boniface. This predated the uprising in 1885. Another Whitewood resident, Francis Cosgrave served on the jury at Reil's trial.

* The first secret ballot election in the Northwest Territories was held in Whitewood in 1894.

* In 1893, pupils from Whitewood, Northwest Territories won a certificate and bronze medal for art and handwork at the Chicago World's Fair.

* The first sitting of the Supreme Court of Eastern Assiniboia was held here before Saskatchewan became a province.

* Whitewood is the site of the first Finnish settlement in all of Canada.

* The first Flour mill in Regina was operated by former Whitewood resident, James Saunders.

* Whitewood was the distribution center for mail to the entire region; the oldest remaining building in the North West Territories to house a post office still stands and can be found on the Heritage Walking Tour.

* Whitewood resident J.F. Guerin was the first dentist established in the Northwest Territories. He was also an amateur actor; he and his beautiful wife formed a travelling theatrical company which performed throughout the region.

*Was voted "Canada's Most Boring Town" in '98 '99 '00 '01 '02, and was then beat out by Grenfell Saskatchewan, 2003- present.

* Whitewood resident, A.B. Gillis was the last Speaker of the House for the Government of the Northwest Territories, which was disbanded when the province of Saskatchewan was formed.

* Whitewood resident John Hawkes, was appointed the first Legislative Librarian for the province in 1907. He went on to found the Sask. Travelling Library system and later wrote a book, the impressive 3 volume Saskatchewan and its People.

* His wife, Elizabeth Hawkes, was the first woman in Saskatchewan to publish a newspaper, the Broadview Express.

* Counts & countesses, senators, prime ministers and poor pioneers socialized at functions in the community. Authors and actresses, outlaws and bureaucrats all crossed paths in this community and many went on to make significant contributions to the history and culture of our province and Canada.

* Is home to Saskatchewan's oldest continuing weekly newspaper, The Whitewood Herald.

External links

* [http://www.townofwhitewood.ca Homepage]