Strongfield, Saskatchewan
Encyclopedia
Strongfield is a small village in the centre of the province of Saskatchewan
, Canada
. It lies about 100 km south of Saskatoon
, Saskatchewan on Highway #19 between its sister communities of Hawarden and Loreburn.
According to the 2001 Census it had only a population of 42. Like many small towns of the Canadian prairies, Strongfield was once a booming village with an elementary school, post office, car and farm equipment dealerships, two Saskatchewan Wheat Pool
grain elevators small restaurants and other shops. Today the school no longer exists and most of the businesses have long been closed down, their former buildings left to the designs of the often cruel Saskatchewan
weather.
Still persevering against the odds are the town's Hockey
and Curling
Rinks, the Elks
lodge, the Strongfield café and post office, and the small United Church of Canada
. The town is very close to the South Saskatchewan River
, and the man-made Lake Diefenbaker
created by the Gardiner Dam
, one of the world's largest earth-filled dams begun in 1959 and completed eight years later. In the centre of the town is a large (for a town of its size) cenotaph
or memorial to Strongfield's fallen soldiers of both World Wars.
For the Saskatchewan Centennial a celebratory event was held on July 2nd, 2005 in Strongfield at the Community Rink where activities included a pancake breakfast, horseshoe tournament, parade, street, hockey, slow pitch, beer gardens, supper and a street dance.
The area was first surveyed by government surveyor J.A. Maddock and crew from May to July 1883, shortly after the former Hudson's Bay Company
lands became part of the Dominion of Canada to be organized as the Northwest Territories
. The surveying system of the Canadian prairies was based on a similar system adopted in the United States. Townships were divided into 36 sections of 640 acres (2.6 km²) each . The 640 acres (2.6 km²) square was further divided into quarter sections of 160 acre (0.6474976 km²). Strongfield would eventually be situated on township 27, range 5, west of the third meridian
.
The Dominion government, seeking to reassure the railway companies that the West was good agricultural land, enlisted the aid of two Canadians, Col. Davidson (for whom the nearby town of Davidson, Saskatchewan
is named) and A.D. McRae
. They visited the prairies and went to the United States to seek capital. they formed the Saskatchewan Valley Land Company, bought 500,000 acres (2000 km²) of land between Saskatoon
and Regina
from the Dominion Government at a dollar an acre and began to promote settlement. The company subsequently bought 1,250,000 acres (5060 km²) from the railway companies at $1.75 an acre. They recruited over two thousand land agents and sold the land at $1.75 an acre in 1901. This price later rose to seven and then to ten dollars an acre.
George Armstrong, a Markdale, Ontario
businessman, was one of these agents and it is probably due to his influence and encouragement that over a third of the early settlers were former residents of the Markdale-Meaford
area in Ontario
.
Another large segment of the early population consisted of Finnish settlers from the Dakotas who came to take homesteads along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. There are few descendants of these settlers left in the Strongfield area as most sold their land to move to the west side of the river where the majority of the Finnish settlers lived.
The third major segment of the population of the area came from the Central United States and were largely of Norwegian descent. This was in large part due to the efforts of Norwegian Lutheran clergyman and founder of Hanley, Saskatchewan
, Knute B. Birkeland who was instrumental through advertising in Norwegian-American newspapers in convincing many Norwegians in the Dakotas, Minnesota
, Iowa
, and Wisconsin
to take up homesteads in Saskatchewan. Later, relatives of these early Norwegian pioneers would come directly from Norway
as well.
Unlike most Saskatchewan villages, it experienced a boom in population and economy for a span of about ten years during the late fifties and early sixties due to the construction of the Gardiner Dam
on the South Saskatchewan River
some 20 km west.
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It lies about 100 km south of Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
, Saskatchewan on Highway #19 between its sister communities of Hawarden and Loreburn.
According to the 2001 Census it had only a population of 42. Like many small towns of the Canadian prairies, Strongfield was once a booming village with an elementary school, post office, car and farm equipment dealerships, two Saskatchewan Wheat Pool
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool
The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool was a grain handling, agri-food processing and marketing company based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Pool created a network of marketing alliances in North America and internationally which made it the largest agricultural grain handling operation in the province of...
grain elevators small restaurants and other shops. Today the school no longer exists and most of the businesses have long been closed down, their former buildings left to the designs of the often cruel Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
weather.
Still persevering against the odds are the town's Hockey
Hockey
Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...
and Curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
Rinks, the Elks
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
lodge, the Strongfield café and post office, and the small United Church of Canada
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
. The town is very close to the South Saskatchewan River
South Saskatchewan River
The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan....
, and the man-made Lake Diefenbaker
Lake Diefenbaker
Lake Diefenbaker is a reservoir in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. It was formed by the construction of Gardiner Dam and the Qu'Appelle River Dam across the South Saskatchewan and Qu'Appelle Rivers respectively. Construction began in 1959 and the lake was filled in 1967. The lake is long with...
created by the Gardiner Dam
Gardiner Dam
The Gardiner Dam on the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatchewan is the largest embankment dam in Canada and one of the largest embankment dams in the world...
, one of the world's largest earth-filled dams begun in 1959 and completed eight years later. In the centre of the town is a large (for a town of its size) cenotaph
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
or memorial to Strongfield's fallen soldiers of both World Wars.
For the Saskatchewan Centennial a celebratory event was held on July 2nd, 2005 in Strongfield at the Community Rink where activities included a pancake breakfast, horseshoe tournament, parade, street, hockey, slow pitch, beer gardens, supper and a street dance.
History
Strongfield's beginnings lie from 1903 and the great wave of Western settlement and development of the Canadian prairies. It was incorporated as a village in 1912, just seven years after Saskatchewan's entrance into the Canadian Confederation. From that time on it progressed as the economic and social hub of the expanding population in the area.The area was first surveyed by government surveyor J.A. Maddock and crew from May to July 1883, shortly after the former Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
lands became part of the Dominion of Canada to be organized as the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
. The surveying system of the Canadian prairies was based on a similar system adopted in the United States. Townships were divided into 36 sections of 640 acres (2.6 km²) each . The 640 acres (2.6 km²) square was further divided into quarter sections of 160 acre (0.6474976 km²). Strongfield would eventually be situated on township 27, range 5, west of the third meridian
106th meridian west
The meridian 106° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
.
The Dominion government, seeking to reassure the railway companies that the West was good agricultural land, enlisted the aid of two Canadians, Col. Davidson (for whom the nearby town of Davidson, Saskatchewan
Davidson, Saskatchewan
Davidson is a town in south central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located 104 km southeast of Saskatoon beside provincial highway 11. It is located almost exactly halfway between Saskatoon and Regina and was a popular stopping-off point for travellers before Hwy...
is named) and A.D. McRae
Alexander Duncan McRae
Alexander Duncan McRae, C.B., was a successful businessman, a Major General in the Canadian Army in First World War, a Member of Parliament, a Canadian Senator and a farmer.-Origins:...
. They visited the prairies and went to the United States to seek capital. they formed the Saskatchewan Valley Land Company, bought 500,000 acres (2000 km²) of land between Saskatoon
Saskatoon
Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....
and Regina
Regina, Saskatchewan
Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...
from the Dominion Government at a dollar an acre and began to promote settlement. The company subsequently bought 1,250,000 acres (5060 km²) from the railway companies at $1.75 an acre. They recruited over two thousand land agents and sold the land at $1.75 an acre in 1901. This price later rose to seven and then to ten dollars an acre.
George Armstrong, a Markdale, Ontario
Markdale, Ontario
Markdale is a community in the Municipality of Grey Highlands, in Grey County, Ontario, Canada.Markdale was first settled in 1846 and originally called East Glenelg, after a nearby township. In 1864, it was renamed Cornabus after the Islay, Scotland hometown of then-postmaster Donald MacDuffie...
businessman, was one of these agents and it is probably due to his influence and encouragement that over a third of the early settlers were former residents of the Markdale-Meaford
Meaford, Ontario
Meaford is a Canadian municipality in Grey County, Ontario. Meaford is located on Nottawasaga Bay, a sub-basin of Georgian Bay, in southern Ontario....
area in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
.
Another large segment of the early population consisted of Finnish settlers from the Dakotas who came to take homesteads along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River. There are few descendants of these settlers left in the Strongfield area as most sold their land to move to the west side of the river where the majority of the Finnish settlers lived.
The third major segment of the population of the area came from the Central United States and were largely of Norwegian descent. This was in large part due to the efforts of Norwegian Lutheran clergyman and founder of Hanley, Saskatchewan
Hanley, Saskatchewan
Hanley is a town in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located 65 km south of Saskatoon. Population 510. It was named after Hanley in Staffordshire, England by early founders. It is also the seat for the rural municipality of Rosedale....
, Knute B. Birkeland who was instrumental through advertising in Norwegian-American newspapers in convincing many Norwegians in the Dakotas, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, and Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
to take up homesteads in Saskatchewan. Later, relatives of these early Norwegian pioneers would come directly from Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
as well.
Unlike most Saskatchewan villages, it experienced a boom in population and economy for a span of about ten years during the late fifties and early sixties due to the construction of the Gardiner Dam
Gardiner Dam
The Gardiner Dam on the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatchewan is the largest embankment dam in Canada and one of the largest embankment dams in the world...
on the South Saskatchewan River
South Saskatchewan River
The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan....
some 20 km west.