Hepburn is a town 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, approximately 45 kilometres north of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, 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 Hig ...

History

Hepburn was settled in the early 20th century as a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

station. Connection made the community grow overnight and many people moved to the area. Before the 1930s the population of Hepburn had reached over 800 people. In the 1930s, the area was affected by both the

great depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and a huge

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

affecting most of Western Canada. Many of Hepburn's residents and farmers left the area. By the end of the decade, the population was less than 300. In the 1940s, the community sent over 60 men to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. After the war, Hepburn started to grow, and new homes were built. In 1989, the province shut down the railroad line, stranding three grain elevators. Like most Saskatchewan grain elevators, two were torn down but one remained, being converted into a museum about the history of Hepburn and of Saskatchewan.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population 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 ...

, Hepburn 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

Hepburn was home to a small

Bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological educ ...

called Bethany College which had a population of around 73 students before closing in May 2015. Hepburn is also home to Hepburn School (elementary and high school) which in 2001 celebrated its 75th anniversary. It is believed to be the oldest school in Saskatchewan continuously operating in its original building.

Attractions

* Hepburn Museum of Wheat, a grain elevator built by

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 agricul ...

in 1928 at the end of main street along the

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

. It now stands as a museum that depicts the history of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, the Canadian National Railway and farmer.Hepburn Museum of Wheat
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References

External links