Craik is a town in south central

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in 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 the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

, Canada, incorporated on August 1, 1907. It is strategically located along Provincial Highway 11 (Louis Riel Trail) in the RM of Craik No. 222, 140 km south-east of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

and 117 km north-west of Regina.

History

Craik began as a railway station along the railway line established between Regina and

by 1890, with homesteading beginning in 1901. The route between the two main settlements was by foot and cart prior to this. Many settlers came from western Europe via the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in response to the availability of farming land. Craik was incorporated as a village in 1903, and a town in 1907.

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, Craik 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.

Education

Craik was part of the Davidson School Division, but after amalgamations of school divisions it became part of the

Prairie South School Division Prairie South School Division #210 (effective January 1, 2006, due to provincial amalgamations) comprises 40 schools in the west-central part of Saskatchewan. This division has an enrollment of about 6800 students. Prairie South School Division i ...

. Craik is home to a kindergarten to grade 12 public school, as well as th
Praxis International Institute

Craik Sustainable Living Project

Craik is part of the Saskatchewan Regional Centres of Expertise (RCE) and is home to the Craik Sustainable Living Project, which is working to build a sustainable community. Major components of this project are the Eco-Village and Eco-Centre, as well as education and action.

Economy

The town's economy is based almost exclusively on agriculture, although efforts by the town and RM have been made to attract and develop industry related to the principles of sustainability. The community has a compost program that includes kitchen scraps as well as seasonal yard waste, with service provided by Titan Carbon Smart Technologies.

Media

Local news coverage is provided by the ''Craik Weekly News'' and the '' Davidson Leader''.

Craik and District Regional Park

Craik and District Regional Park () is a

regional park A regional park is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government. Definition A regional park can be a special park distri ...

located north-east of Craik at the south end of Arm Lake by Arm Lake Dam. Opened on July 18, 1971, it sits on 26 acres of well treed, fenced land. In 1966, three years after the completion of the dam, 1,500 trees, including 100 maples, 800 Manchurian elms, 500

caragana ''Caragana'' is a genus of about 80–100 species of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to Asia and eastern Europe. They are shrubs or small trees growing tall. They have even-pinnate leaves with small leaflets, and solitary or clu ...

s, and 100 willows, were transplanted from a nearby nursery by volunteers. In a joint venture by the RMs of Craik and Arm River, a unique kidney-shaped outdoor swimming pool was built at the site and opened for August 1967. The regional park now features camping with 30 amp service, mini-golf, trails, and access to the lake for swimming, boating, fishing, and other water sports. Beside the park is the Craik and District Golf Course. Nearby, in Craik, there are other recreational facilities including a

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

/ skating rink and ball diamonds.

Arts and culture

*The Prairie Pioneer Museum (c. 1966) is a municipal heritage property on the Canadian Register of Historic Places. *The Craik Town Hall built in 1912-13 is also on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Notable people

Notable persons who were born, grew up, or lived in Craik: * Jim Archibald - ice hockey player *

Garnet Exelby John Garnet Exelby (born August 16, 1981) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Atlanta Thrashers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was particularly known for his aggressive styl ...

- ice hockey player * Chris Neiszner - ice hockey player * Jeremy Reich - ice hockey player

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Craik No. 222, Saskatchewan Towns in Saskatchewan