Kenosee Lake ( 2016 population: ) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in 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 ...

within the

Rural Municipality of Wawken No. 93 The Rural Municipality of Wawken No. 93 (Canada 2016 Census, 2016 population: ) is a List of rural municipalities in Saskatchewan, rural municipality (RM) in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Divi ...

and Census Division No. 1. The village is situated on Moose Bay, which is on the north-east part of

Kenosee Lake Kenosee Lake is a closed-basin lake in south-east corner of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The lake lies in Moose Mountain Provincial Park in the heart of the Moose Mountain Upland, a forested plateau that rises about 200 metres abov ...

, just off Highway 9, on a forested plateau called

Moose Mountain Upland Moose Mountain Upland, Moose Mountain Uplands, or commonly Moose Mountain, is a hilly plateau located in the south-east corner of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, that covers an area of about . The upland rises about above the broad, f ...

. It is entirely surrounded by

Moose Mountain Provincial Park Moose Mountain Provincial Park is a provincial park, located in south-eastern Saskatchewan 24 km north of the town of Carlyle on the Moose Mountain Upland. It is one of Saskatchewan's few parks with a community inside the park as there ...

, which was established in 1931. Kenosee Lake was incorporated as a village on 1 October 1987. The closest town is Carlyle, which is about 24 kilometres south along Highway 9.

History

Long before Kenosee Lake became an official village, the area around the lake, which had been called ''Fish Lake'' until 1932, was quite popular as a resort community. In the 1890s, Fred Christopher and sons, who were

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 **Ger ...

immigrants and had a homestead seven miles east of Fish Lake, and the Fripp brothers, Harold and Percy who owned the land that the village of Kenosee Lake currently sits on, agreed to cut a trail through the bush from Fish Lake to Cannington Manor. That trail became known as ''Christopher Trail'' and is still used today as the main gravel road between Kenosee Lake and Cannington Manor. The first actual road to the lake, though, was built from a spot about 3 miles west of Carlyle past the lakes of McGurk, Stevenson, and Hewitt to the west side of Fish Lake in 1905. On that west side of the lake was another resort called Arcola Resort. For a variety of reasons, such as a lack of potable water and when the new Highway 9 was built in the early 1930s, it went to the east side of the lake, it wasn't as successful as the resorts on the north-east shore. By the 1940s, the last cottage was gone. That spot on the west side of the lake is now occupied by three Christian summer camps. The Christopher family built the Saint Rest Resort in 1897 on Percy Fripp's land and then in 1899, bought the land. About that same time, several

dance hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and citi ...

s, stores, and cabins sprung up along the beaches. The oldest surviving dance hall is Tumble Inn, which was built in 1909 by the Christopher family. The Inn was part of the Pioneer Host hotel, also built and owned by the Christophers. The large bay on the north-west portion of the lake, Christopher Bay, is named after that early pioneering family. Tumble Inn is located on Waseca Avenue and was restored in 1991. In 1913, Fred Christopher sold 40 of the 42 acres he owned to Henry William Holquist "Hank" who immediately started expansion and upgrades to the resort. He built a new hotel, dance hall, and store, and was soon out-pacing the competing resort, Clarke's Resort which had been started six years prior when Ray Boilean Clarke bought 40 acres to the east in 1907. Holquist named his resort We-non-cha Summer Resort. By the late 1920s, there were two hotels and 60 cottages. In 1933, he built the Kenosee Gardens, which was the largest dance hall there. The ''Gardens'', as it came to be known, attracted big names in the

Big Band era A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

. There was even a casino in the Gardens. Ray Boilean Clarke's health started to fail in the 1930s. His two sons, Hugh "Puddy" and Charlie Clarke took over day-to-day operations. Charlie, though, left the resort later in the 1930s to work on a nearby farm. Ray died in 1941 leaving his widow and son, Hugh, to tend the resort. Although now closed and in disrepair, Kenosee Gardens still stands overlooking the lake from the centre of the village. In 1942, Clarke Resort's hotel burnt down. Holquist, who was by this time getting on in years, sold his We-non-cha Summer Resort to Hugh Clarke. Clarke soon absorbed the resort into his own, removed the name We-non-cha, and became the dominant resort in the region. In 1956, Kenosee Gardens was sold to Lawrence James Albert Hirtle. Hugh died in 1958. By 1959, much of the land was surveyed and subdivided into 200 lots, which sold quickly. At this time, the RM of Wawken built roads throughout the new subdivision. In the early 1970s, it was sold to Leipert & Jones. The village of Kenosee Lake sits mostly on the original Clarke, Hirtle lands. On 5 July 1978, the community became independent of the RM and named itself "We-non-cha". In 1981, it was renamed to the Village of Kenosee Lake. In 1987, it gained official village status.

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 ...

, Kenosee Lake 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. In the 2016 Census of Population, the Village of Kenosee Lake recorded a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Attractions and services

The village is at the heart of

and as such provides many of the park's services, such as a gas station, restaurant, convenience store, a private full-service campground, a church (Moose Mountain Church of Christ), and a volunteer fire department. Nearby Kenosee, in and around the park, is full-service camping, 18-hole golf,

miniature golf Miniature golf, also known as minigolf, mini-putt, crazy golf, or putt-putt, is an offshoot of the sport of golf focusing solely on the putting aspect of its parent game. The aim of the game is to score the lowest number of points. It is played ...

, a

casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

, piers for fishing and boating, swimming, hiking, picnicking, Moose Mountain Chalet, the

Kenosee Superslides The Kenosee Superslides is a water park in Moose Mountain Provincial Park, or Kenosee Lake in Canada. History The Kenosee Superslides were built in the summer of 1985, and opened in the summer of 1986. It has been a successful and popular ret ...

, the Red Barn Market, and accommodations, such as cabins.

Sports

The Kenosee Cubs of the Saskota Baseball League play at the ball diamonds just west of the village in Moose Mountain Park.

References

External links