Esterhazy is a town in the south-eastern part of the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

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 ...

, south-east of

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 450 kilometres north-west of Winnipeg and 300 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. As of 2017 the census population of the ...

along Highways 22 and 80. The town is in the Rural Municipality of Fertile Belt No. 183.

History

Esterhazy is reputed to be named for Count Paul Otto d'Esterhazy, an immigrant agent who was christened Johannes Packh, but at age 35 claimed he had "incontrovertible proof" that he was a Hungarian aristocrat of the Esterházy family. This claim was never recognized by the Esterházy family, one of the wealthiest families in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. A year after making his claim, he immigrated to Saskatchewan, south of the current location of the town of Esterhazy, and in 1886 helped settle 35 Hungarian families, founding the colony of Kaposvar, named after the Hungarian city

Kaposvár Kaposvár (; also known by other alternative names) is a city with county rights in the southwestern part of Hungary, south of Lake Balaton. It is one of the leading cities of Transdanubia, the capital of Somogy County, and the seat of the Kaposvá ...

. The colony flourished, and many more immigrants settled the area as the years went by. In 1905 the town of Esterhazy was officially founded. The area that is now the township of Esterhazy was first settled by

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

settlers in 1882, who founded Sumner Parish in the north. Later colonies included the

Swedes Swedes ( sv, svenskar) are a North Germanic ethnic group native to the Nordic region, primarily their nation state of Sweden, who share a common ancestry, culture, history and language. They mostly inhabit Sweden and the other Nordic countr ...

to the west,

Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, c ...

to the southwest, northeast a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

colony, northwest a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

one, and a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

settlement in the southeast, near

Wapella, Saskatchewan Wapella () is a town of 354 located northwest of Moosomin on the Trans-Canada Highway. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Wapella had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a ...

. In 1962,

IMC Global IMC Global (also known as International Minerals and Chemical Corporation and Imcera) was a mining and production company, formerly listed on the S&P MidCap 400. It was founded in 1909 as International Agricultural Corporation. In 2004, IMC Global ...

(now

Mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

), a mining company, completed the shaft for a

potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

mine, and today the two joint mines, K1 and K2, combined produce more potash than any other mine in the world, granting Esterhazy the title of "Potash capital of the world."

Historic sites

On July 8, 2009 the

Esterhazy Flour Mill The Esterhazy Flour Mill is located at 517 Smith-Dorrien Street, Esterhazy, Saskatchewan. Construction of the mill was started in 1904 and was completed in 1907. The current owner is the Town of Esterhazy and is run by the Friends of the Flour M ...

was designated as a

national historic site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

, and is one of 45 Saskatchewan National Historic Sites. The plaque commemorating the national historic site designation was unveiled on September 3, 2011. Garry Breitkreuz, Member of Parliament for

Yorkton—Melville Yorkton—Melville is a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. Geography The district is in east-central Saskatchewan. History The electoral district was cre ...

unveiled the plaque on behalf of

Peter Kent James Peter Kent (born July 27, 1943) is a former Canadian journalist and former politician who served as the Conservative Member of Parliament for the riding of Thornhill from 2008 to 2021. He served as Minister of the Environment in the 28th ...

, Canada's

Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

and Minister responsible for

Parks Canada Parks Canada (PC; french: Parcs Canada),Parks Canada is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Parks Canada Agency (). is the agency of the Government of Canada which manages the country's 48 National Parks, th ...

. Our Lady of Assumption Roman Catholic Church, also known as ''Kaposvar Church'', was built in 1906-1907 by Brothers of Father Jules Pirot with Hungarian farmers hauling stones from the surrounding area. A large stone church, today it is the home of the Kaposvar Historic Site and Museum. This church is on a very well kept site, where tours of the church can be taken.

Demographics

In the

2021 Canadian census 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 sl ...

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 ...

, Esterhazy 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.

Esterhazy Regional Park

Esterhazy Regional Park () is a park located on the eastern side of Esterhazy along the banks of the Kaposvar Creek. Founded in 1984, it was the 100th

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 ...

established in Saskatchewan. The park has a campground, 9-hole golf course, ball diamonds, cross-country ski trails, and hiking trails. The campground has 32 electric campsites, potable water, showers, and washrooms. The golf course has grass greens, is a par 34, and has a total of 2,834 yards.

Education

Esterhazy High School and P. J. Gillen School are in the Good Spirit School Division. Students from the nearby communities of Tantallon, Yarbo, and

Gerald Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Iri ...

also attend school in Esterhazy.

Media

;Newspaper * The World-Spectator community newspaper
www.world-spectator.com
* Plain and Valley regional newspape
www.plainandvalley.com
*''The Four-Town Journal'' - print and digital newspaper * '' EsterhazyOnline'' - online newspaper ;Radio * CJEZ-FM 99.5 - Esterhazy's first and newest local radio station. ''Launch date to be announced''

Notable people

* Rockford 2001, professional wrestler *

Dana Antal Dana Antal (born April 19, 1977 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) is a women's ice hockey player. She won a gold medal with Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Prior to joining the Canadian national team, she played collegiate hock ...

, Canadian National Women's Hockey Player, Olympic Gold Medal winner *

Corey Tochor Corey James Tochor (born 1976 or 1977) is a Canadian politician who has served as the Member of Parliament for Saskatoon—University since the 2019 federal election. Tochor was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan in the 2011 ...

, current MP, Saskatoon University, former MLA Saskatoon Eastview, former Speaker of the House of the Saskatchewan Legislature

References

External links

* {{Authority control Towns in Saskatchewan Fertile Belt No. 183, Saskatchewan Hungarian-Canadian culture Mining communities in Saskatchewan Division No. 5, Saskatchewan Populated places established in 1882