Birch Hills is a town located in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada. It is located southeast of

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Albert, Prince Consort (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Albert I of Belgium ...

and the reserve of Muskoday First Nation. Directly to the west is the village of

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, and to the east is Kinistino. It is surrounded by, but not part of, Birch Hills Rural Municipality No. 460. The community takes its name from hills in the area, which were once heavily treed with birches that were used in manufacturing birch bark

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

s during the

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

era of the 18th century. The countryside around Birch Hills is part of the

aspen parkland Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretchi ...

biome.

History

Situated in an area settled primarily by

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and Anglo-Metis peoples, Birch Hills became a village in 1907 and reached town status in 1960. Unlike many other agriculturally based towns, it continues to grow due to its position as a satellite community of

Demographics

In the

2021 Census of Population The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...

conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Birch Hills had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Notable people

Earl Thomson Earl John "Tommy" Thomson (February 15, 1895 – May 19, 1971) was a Canadian athlete, a specialist in the high hurdles. In 1920 he became the first Olympic gold medalist in 110 m hurdles from outside the United States. Biography Born in Birch ...

won a gold medal for Canada at the

1920 Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

in the 110 metres hurdles. *

Marshall Johnston Lawrence Marshall Johnston (born June 6, 1941) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive. He played as a Winger (ice hockey), right winger for the Minnesota North Stars and California Golden Seals of th ...

was an NHL player, scout, coach, and general manager. He is currently the Director of Professional Scouting for the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

. *

John Richard Parish Taylor John Richard Parish Taylor (June 19, 1892 – 1950) was an English-born political figure in Saskatchewan. He represented Kinistino from 1917 to 1925 and from 1933 to 1944 in the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan as a Liberal. He was bor ...

, politician

References

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in Saskatchewan Norwegian Canadian settlements Birch Hills No. 460, Saskatchewan Division No. 15, Saskatchewan

History

Demographics

Notable people

See also

References

External links