The history of Saskatoon began with the first permanent non-indigenous settlement 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 ...

, Saskatchewan, Canada, in 1883 when

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

s, wanting to escape the liquor trade in that city, decided to set up a "dry" community in the rapidly growing

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

region. As of 1882 this area was a part of the provisional district named

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 ...

North-West Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

(NWT). Their organization, the Temperance Colonization Society, first examined this area in 1882 and found that it would make an excellent location to found their community based on the ideals of the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

; Saskatoon traditionally considers 1882 its founding year and thus marked its centennial in 1982. The settlers, led by

John Neilson Lake John Neilson Lake (19 August 1834 in Ernestown, Ontario, Canada – 12 February 1925) was originally a preacher for the Methodist Church in Canada and eventually selected the site that became the city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. In 1881 ...

, arrived on the site of what is now Saskatoon by traveling by railway from

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians ...

, Assiniboia, NWT, and then completing the final leg via horse-drawn cart (the railway had yet to be completed to Saskatoon). The plan for the Temperance Colony soon failed as the group was unable to obtain a large block of land within the community. Nonetheless, John Lake is commonly identified as the founder of Saskatoon; a public school, a park and two streets are named after him (Lake Crescent, which was developed in the 1960s, and Eastlake Avenue, originally Lake Avenue (as testified on the first map of Saskatoon from 1883), but later changed for reasons unknown). In 1885, several houses on 11th Street East were used as military hospitals during the

North-West Rebellion The North-West Rebellion (french: Rébellion du Nord-Ouest), also known as the North-West Resistance, was a resistance by the Métis people under Louis Riel and an associated uprising by First Nations Cree and Assiniboine of the District of S ...

. One house, the

Marr Residence The Marr Residence is a National Historic Site located in the Nutana neighbourhood of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and was part of the original temperance colony that predated the city. Built in 1884 for stonemason Alexander "Sandy" Marr, it is t ...

, is a heritage site run by the

Meewasin Valley Authority The Meewasin Valley Authority is a conservation organization created by the Provincial Government of Saskatchewan in Canada and is dedicated to conserving the cultural and natural resources of the South Saskatchewan River Valley. The authority's ...

. The first school, Victoria School, opened for classes at the corner of 11th Street and Broadway Avenue in 1888. This small school, now called the "

Little Stone Schoolhouse Victoria School is the name given to three public schools in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, one of which was the first permanent school constructed in the city. First and Second Victoria Schools The original Victoria School is a designated hist ...

", now sits on the campus of the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Early history

Before the founding of the city itself, the Saskatoon area was already inhabited by nomadic

indigenous peoples Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

, with the oldest traces of occupation dating back around 6,000 years. Stratified remains from the Tipperary Creek First Nations sites near Saskatoon indicate that the area was occupied by indigenous peoples in winter. The future site of Saskatoon was part of the lands that First Nations ceded to the Crown by

Treaty 6 Treaty 6 is the sixth of the numbered treaties that were signed by the Canadian Crown and various First Nations between 1871 and 1877. It is one of a total of 11 numbered treaties signed between the Canadian Crown and First Nations. Specifica ...

in 1876. The Qu'Appelle, Long Lake and Saskatchewan Railway reached Saskatoon in 1890 and crossed the South Saskatchewan River where the

Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge The Senator Sid Buckwold Bridge is a bridge that spans the South Saskatchewan River between west and east shore in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It was built in 1966, on the same site as the original Qu'Appelle, Long Lake and Saskatchewan (lat ...

now stands, causing a boom in development on the west side of the river.

20th century

From the end of the

in 1895 to 1913, Saskatoon was a "boomtown" that saw exponential population growth. The main contributing factors of the exponential growth includes the establishment of a temperance settlement in the area during the late 19th century; an economic surge created by the Barr colonists 1903; the city becoming western Canada's railway network hub, and the establishment of the

in the city. BarrColonists

In 1901, Saskatoon's population hit 113. A third settlement, Riversdale, also began just southwest of Saskatoon. 1903 saw an economic boom for Saskatoon with the encampment of

Barr colonists Barr may refer to: Places * Barr (placename element), element of place names meaning 'wooded hill', 'natural barrier' * Barr, Ayrshire, a village in Scotland * Barr Building (Washington, DC), listed on the US National Register of Historic Places ...

on their way to the Brittania colony. A town charter for the west side of the river was obtained in 1903; Nutana became a village in the same year. April 1904 saw the collapse of the rail bridge due to spring melt and ice on the

South Saskatchewan River The South Saskatchewan River is a major river in Canada that flows through the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. For the first half of the 20th century, the South Saskatchewan would completely freeze over during winter, creating spectacular ...

.Saskatoon Gen Web Project Narratives of Saskatoon
accessed March 30, 2007 The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway system survey proposed Hanley as its northern terminal between Regina and Prince Albert.
accessed March 30, 2007 Saskatoon's Board of Trade sent delegates from Saskatoon to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

to discuss the river crossing and proposed city bridges. Their mission resulted in the selection of Saskatoon as the divisional centre for both the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

and the

Grand Trunk Pacific Railway The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway running from Fort William, Ontario (now Thunder Bay) to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a Pacific coast port. East of Winnipeg the line continued as the National Tra ...

; both of these built bridges near the town by 1907. The QLL&SR bridge was rebuilt in 1905, and again after a train fell through it in March 1914; it was demolished in 1965 to make way for the

and the Idylwyld Freeway. Local History Room Quirky Facts (Saskatoon Public Library)The day a train fell into the river
accessed March 30, 2007 In 1906 Saskatoon became a city with a population of 4,500, which included the communities of

, Riversdale, and

Nutana Nutana is a primarily residential neighbourhood located near the centre of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It includes the business district of Broadway Avenue. It comprises a nearly even mixture of low-density, single detached dwellings and ...

. Following the formation of the Province of

September 1, 1905, premier Hon.

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...

focused on the creation of a provincial university and agricultural college.

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 ...

, Regina, Qu'Appelle,

Indian Head Indian Head can refer to: Coins * Indian Head cent, U.S. one cent coin (1859–1909) *Indian Head eagle, U.S. $10 gold piece issued between 1907 and 1933 *Indian Head gold pieces, U.S. coins issued between 1908 and 1929 *Indian Head nickel, U.S. f ...

and

Battleford Battleford ( 2011 population 4,065) is a small town located across the North Saskatchewan River from the City of North Battleford, in Saskatchewan, Canada. Battleford and North Battleford are collectively referred to as "The Battlefords" by S ...

were all under consideration for this location. President Walter Murray and the Board of University Governors voted in favour of Saskatoon on April 7, 1907. 1907 saw the completion of the

Traffic Bridge The Traffic Bridge is the name given to two truss bridges constructed across the South Saskatchewan River, connecting Victoria Avenue to 3rd Avenue South and Spadina Crescent in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The original bridge opened on Oc ...

, as well as the CPR Bridge and Grand Trunk Pacific GTP Railway Bridge. The geographical barrier:

between Nutana and West Saskatoon was overcome with the building of the

, which opened in 1907. The physical barrier of the CNR rail yards isolated Riversdale and Saskatoon. Road underpasses below the rail line were built at 19th and 23rd Streets, and a wooden pedestrian overpass at 20th Street. Saskatchewan Vintage Post Cards
accessed March 26, 2007 From 1920 to 1926 and from 1938 to 1942 Saskatoon used

Single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

(STV), a form of proportional representation, to elect its councillors. Councillors were elected in one at-large district. Each voter cast just a single vote, using a ranked transferable ballot.

Latter 20th century

After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the

Dirty Thirties The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) an ...

and Depression years saw migration away from bankrupt farms and towards a hope of employment in the cities. The socio-economic changes brought about by

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 ...

and the industrial revolution saw a shift from rural life to urban living. Saskatoon was not only a centre for the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...

during the 1940s, but also became a major regional distribution and service centre. Saskatoon experienced a severe shortage of residential dwellings between 1945 and 1960. During the 1960s, the CNR rail yards were relocated to Chappell Drive, making room for the Idylwyld Freeway and Midtown Plaza in the first Saskatoon

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

revitalisation project. In 1906, the boundaries of Saskatoon were Clarence Avenue to the east, Taylor Street to the south, Avenue P to the west, and 33rd Street East to the north. This area is roughly the same as the core neighborhood suburban development area. These boundaries remained basically the same for approximately 40 years until Saskatoon reached financial stability during

.Saskatoon 100
accessed March 26, 2007 The following suburban development areas saw neighborhoods developed between 1940 and 1980: Nutana SDA on the east side; on the west side Confederation SDA and Lawson SDA. In 1955,

Montgomery Place Montgomery Place, now Bard College: The Montgomery Place Campus, near Barrytown, New York, United States, is an early 19th-century estate that has been designated a National Historic Landmark. It is also a contributing property to the Hudson R ...

and in 1956 the neighboring town of

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

were

annexed Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

by the quickly growing City of SaskatoonThe Sentinel January 2006, This Month in History
accessed February 2, 2007 This growth continued until the mid-1980s.

Technological Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

educational Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Vari ...

and

cultural Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...

amenities have also expanded to meet the increased demand in this growing city.

21st century

Saskatoon's first growth spurt gained Saskatoon the nickname Hub City, whereas the latest growth phenomenon has been termed Sask-a-boom. The 10-year capital deficiency discussion paper for 2007–2016 has recently been updated for 2007. The new priority for the civic government are infrastructure needs and proposed new capital projects for the population increases and for the physical geographical growth. The phenomenal retail sector increase, new neighborhoods and communities place a demand upon the city to provide additional firehalls, transit buses, police headquarters, libraries, water plants, electrical power plants, bridges, interchanges and roadways. Brookside, Rosewood, Stonebridge, The Willows, Willowgrove, University Heights Suburban Centre, Hampton Village, Hudson Bay Industrial, Marquis Industrial, Blairmore Suburban Centre, and another 10 unnamed proposed neighborhoods are being developed or are currently under construction. A further annexation of extensive areas to the north, northeast and east of the city took place in July 2010. On August 24, 2010, the Traffic Bridge, which symbolized the uniting of Saskatoon, Nutana and Riversdale into one city, was closed indefinitely due to structural integrity concerns were raised. In 2011, the city council decided to replace the iconic bridge, which was completed and opened to the public on October 3, 2018.

Historical communities amalgamated into Saskatoon

Saskatoon became a city with the amalgamation with the above three communities, however the current size of Saskatoon has meant that the geographical presence of Saskatoon has encompassed several other early communities. * North Saskatoon is now known as North Park.Saskatchewan, Canada, Rand McNally 1924 Indexed Pocket Map Tourists' and Shippers' Guide
accessed January 19, 2007 * West Saskatoon was a post office from 1900, which changed its name to Saskatoon in 1902. This area is currently referred to as the

Central Business District A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

.Post Offices and Postmasters – ArchiviaNet – Library and Archives Canada
accessed January 19, 2007 * Chappell was a CNR station west of Saskatoon, located near the present-day location of

. * There was also a community known as Brownell near North Saskatoon; it was located near present-day 51st Street and Miners Avenue, in the present-day neighborhood of Hudson Bay Industrial.Brownell School District #904 Saskatchewan One room school house project
accessed March 25, 2007 * McNab Park was built 1967 as a

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

station and is located in the Airport Business Area. It has been used as a low-income housing development for many years.National Archives Archivia Net Post Offices and Postmasters
accessed March 25, 2007 The community was decommissioned and dismantled in 2011–2012 and is being redeveloped as a business park. * The "Magic City" of Factoria is now the neighborhood of Silverwood Heights. Billy Silverwood, a horse breeder and spring water bottler, owned land north of the 1912 Saskatoon city limits. The enterprises of horse breeding and bottling water, where an uncontaminated water supply was needed, were not a good combination. R.E. Glass, a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

entrepreneur, had a vision of an industrial community and purchased the Silverwood Bottling Company. He foresaw extending the rail line to service factories, breweries, flour mills, and expanded bottling works. The rail line came in 1913, and the beginnings of businesses lined the track, however

and the coming of electricity in 1918 made the venture unsuccessful.A History of Saskatoon To 1914
accessed January 19, 2007 * Caswell Hill was a hill located in the

homestead Homestead may refer to: *Homestead (buildings), a farmhouse and its adjacent outbuildings; by extension, it can mean any small cluster of houses *Homestead (unit), a unit of measurement equal to 160 acres *Homestead principle, a legal concept th ...

of Robert Caswell; it was developed as Saskatoon's first suburb and is prominent in early photographs of the west side of Saskatoon. * Crescent Heights was a proposed subdivision from 1912. It would have been located five miles (8 km) from the Saskatoon city limits, at the location of Battleford Trail Road, which remains outside the city limits to this day. * West of Saskatoon were a number of CNR and CPR stations closely spaced together along their parallel tracks. The closest was Yorath, on the CNR line just west of the river, near Yorath Island and approximately where the landfill is located today. Garfield was the closest CPR station, approximately where the present-day neighbourhoods of

Fairhaven, Saskatoon Fairhaven is a neighbourhood in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, located towards the west end of the city, south of 22nd Street and west of Circle Drive. History Fairhaven first appeared on a 1913 map compiled by City Commissioner Christopher J. ...

and

Parkridge, Saskatoon Parkridge is a residential community in western Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, located on land annexed by the city between 1975 and 1979. Development of the subdivision (initially called "Fairhaven II" after the neighbouring community to the east), beg ...

are located. About three miles (5 km) farther out were Cory (CPR), Farley (CNR), and Eaton (CNR branch line toward Vanscoy), in approximately a north-south line; Eaton was renamed Hawker, as the post office was confused with Eatonia, and is now the location of the

Saskatchewan Railway Museum The Saskatchewan Railway Museum is a railway museum located west of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at the intersection of the Pike Lake Highway (Hwy 60) and the Canadian National Railway tracks (on "Hawker" siding). It is operated by the Saskatchewan R ...

. Eaton was also used briefly as a

Ukrainian Canadian internment The Ukrainian Canadian internment was part of the confinement of "enemy aliens" in Canada during and for two years after the end of the First World War. It lasted from 1914 to 1920, under the terms of the ''War Measures Act''. Canada was at war wi ...

during

. Welcome to Saskrailmuseum.org
accessed March 25, 2007
accessed March 25, 2007Canadian Maps: January 1925 Waghorn's Guide. Post Offices in Man. Sask. Alta. and West Ontario.
accessed January 19, 2007
accessed January 19, 2007 * Smithville Cemetery is just west of Saskatoon on Highway 14 just west of the city, although it is now within the city limits. * East of Saskatoon, Newcross (north of Grasswood, earlier called South Saskatoon) and Duro were CNR stations between Saskatoon and Clavet, while Engen and

Floral A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

were east of Saskatoon on the CPR line.1905 CNR map
accessed March 25, 20071948 Waghorn's Guide
accessed March 25, 2007
accessed March 25, 2007 * In 1904, the Grand Trunk Railway GTR built a station named Earl 3 three miles (5 km) south of the boundaries of Saskatoon at that time. This is presently the CN Industrial area. LandAnnexationByDecade

Legal land location of amalgamated communities

Sask Gen Web Homestead Records Township, Range, Meridian
accessed January 19, 2007 Currently Saskatoon is considered to be located encompassing townships 36 and 37, range 5 and township 36, range 6, west of the Third Meridian. (See also

Dominion Land Survey The Dominion Land Survey (DLS; french: links=no, arpentage des terres fédérales, ATF) is the method used to divide most of Western Canada into one-square-mile (2.6 km2) sections for agricultural and other purposes. It is based on the layout ...

– Each township is a square.)City of Saskatoon · Quick Facts
accessed January 19, 2007

Historical population

References

External links

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071201065317/http://www.saskatoon.ca/org/city_planning/resources/populace_newsletter/Populace_Spring_2006.pdf Populace Spring 2006
City of Saskatoon – City Planning

City of Saskatoon: Departments · Community Services · City Planning · ZAM Maps

saskMAPS.ca Saskatoon interactive growth map

The Saskatoon Heritage Society new website

City of Saskatoon – Departments – Community Services · Development MUNICIPALLY DESIGNATED HERITAGE PROPERTIES

{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Saskatoon