Whitewood, Saskatchewan

Whitewood Whitewood Station
Main Street, Whitewood, 1913
Country	Canada
Province	Saskatchewan
Census division	Division No. 5, Saskatchewan
Rail station and early PO Founded	1883-11-09
Whitewood Post office founded	1895-01-01
Incorporated Town	1892
Named for	White Poplar (Populus alba) White wood tree
Government
• Mayor	Malcolm Green
• Governing body	Whitewood Town Council
• Member of legislative assembly	Don Toth
• Member of Parliament	Ed Komarnicki
Area
• Total	3.04 km2 (1.17 sq mi)
Elevation	598.30 m (1,962.93 ft)
Population  (2006)
• Total	869
• Density	285.4/km2 (739/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST (UTC))
List of Saskatchewan provincial highways	Sk Hwy 1, Sk Hwy 9
Website	Town of Whitewood

Whitewood is a town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located approximately Template:Km to mi east of Regina on the Trans-Canada Highway Sk Hwy 1. It is situated at the crossroads of two major highways systems – the Trans-Canada, which runs east and west, and Sk Hwy 9, which runs north and south from the US border to Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan. Located midway between Brandon, Manitoba 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.

Cattle, horses, and sheep were all rounded up for market day in Whitewood, 1901

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. The Hudson's Bay Company trading post was established about the fall of 1891 to approximately the spring of 1906.

Three metre snow drifts lined the sidewalks in Whitewood, 1904

With the settlement of the west and the coming of the Trans-Continental railway, Whitewood quickly grew into a thriving community. The CPR naming was derived from the White Poplar (Populus alba), a deciduous tree with white bark, which was plentiful in the area.

By 1882, the town of Whitewood, Provisional District of Assiniboia, North-West 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 30, 1892.

Geography

Whitewood is located in the north eastern section of the topographical area named Wood Hills to the north of Moose Mountain and south of the Qu'Appelle River. Whitewood is situated in the Melville Plain of the Aspen Parkland ecoregion.

Burrows, Clayridge, Forest Farm, St. Luke, and St. Hubert Mission are small unincorporated areas near Whitewood. The Ochapowace (Ochapowage) Indian Reserve is nearby.

Weather

Whitewood has a humid continental climate, with extreme seasonal temperatures. It has warm summers and cold winters, with the average daily temperatures ranging from −16.5 °C (2.3 °F) in January to 18.2 °C (64.8 °F) in July. Annually, temperatures exceed 30 °C (86 °F) on an average in late July Typically, summer lasts from late June until late August, and the humidity is seldom uncomfortably high. Winter lasts from November to March, and varies greatly in length and severity. Spring and autumn are both short and highly variable. On July 5, 1937 a extreme high of −41.1 °C (−42.0 °F) was recorded, and on January 12, 1916, a record low of −45.6 °C (−50.1 °F).

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Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
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Demographics

Historical Population

Year	Pop.	±%
1901	359	—
1906	501	+39.6%
1911	447	−10.8%
1916	446	−0.2%
1996	985	+120.9%
2001	947	−3.9%
2006	869	−8.2%

The 2006 Statistics Canada data estimates the town's population at 869. residents 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 and Irish, also made Whitewood their destination in the new world. To quote a prominent writer of that period, and resident of Whitewood 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." Hawkes penned "Saskatchewan and Its People" in three volumes.

The Whitewood band, including some of the French aristocrats from St. Hubert, previously La Rolanderie, 1904

One of the most unusual and glamorous settlements was that of The French Counts of St Hubert, Saskatchewan. 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.

Government

The town of Whitewood has a mayor as the highest ranking government official. The town also elects aldermen or councillors to form the municipal council. Currently the mayor is Malcolm Green, and is serving with councillors Denise Peter, Martin Davenport, Anthony rule, Randy Miler, Dexter Samida, and Lionele LaRocque. The town administrator is Sharon Rodgers.

Provincially Whitewood is within the constituency of Moosomin served by their Member of legislative assembly, the honourable Don Toth.

Federally the Souris--Moose Mountain riding is represented by their Member of Parliament, Ed Komarnicki.

As Whitewood has achieved town status, it has its own municpal government, however rural governments nearby are Willowdale No. 153 and Silverwood No. 123.

Economy

Economically, Whitewood is situated in the Yorkton--Melville economic region. Whitewood along with Broadview, Grenfell, Wolseley are all part of the Mainline Regional Economic Development Authority. REDA's stimulate economic growth in the local area as they are familiar with the inherent needs of the community and stimulate business and government investment resulting in job creation, tourism and recreational facilities.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Whitewood Airport (TC LID: CKY2), is located adjacent to Whitewood. Whitewood was established in the late 1800s on the Canadian Pacific Railway Trans-Continental railway. Currently, Whitewood is situated at the crossroads of two major highways systems – the Trans-Canada Highway Sk Hwy 1, which runs east and west, and Sk Hwy 9, which runs north and south from the US border to Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan.

Media

The Whitewood Herald is a weekly newspaper located in southeastern Saskatchewan in the community of Whitewood. Publishing since 1892, it is the oldest continuing weekly newspaper in Saskatchewan. John Hawkes was the editor of the Whitewood Herald from 1897 to 1900.

Museums and other points of interest

The Broadview Recreation Site is within Template:Km to mi of Whitewood, and Spring Fountain Recreation Site is closer at Template:Km to mi. During Whitewood's centennial year of 1992, they collaborated on the history of the French Counts. The Merchant Bank Heritage Center soon followed which also celebrates the French Count history.

In the fall of 2002, economic development director Janet Blackstock along with Mayor Malcolm Green aimed to restore the homes built in the late 1800's by the French aristocrats and paint outside murals in Whitewood to re-vitalize the local history. One mural had been painted in 2000 showing the town in 1890. The area of Whitewood claims that during the late nineteenth century, there were more aristocrats here than any where else in North America.

External links

• Town of Whitewood Homepage