Llewelyn, Saskatchewan was a Canadian settlement of Welsh immigrants near

Bangor, Saskatchewan Bangor ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Fertile Belt No. 183 and Census Division No. 5. History Bangor was settled in 1902 by descendants of Welsh families who had m ...

. Many of the initial residents were

Patagonian Welsh Patagonian Welsh (Welsh: ''Cymraeg y Wladfa'') is a variety of the Welsh language spoken in Y Wladfa, the Welsh settlement in Patagonia, Chubut Province Chubut ( es, Provincia del Chubut, ; cy, Talaith Chubut) is a province in southern Arg ...

Origins

Llewelyn was founded when the Canadian government helped several dozen Welsh families move from Argentina to Saskatchewan, starting in 1902. A school and a post office were in place by late 1903. By 1906, the Canadian Department of the Interior was confident enough to report that "The Welsh settlement of Llewelyn Saskatchewan, appears to be thriving," mentioning the productive farms and four school houses at Llewelyn.

Llewelyn Bethel Chapel

Llewelyn Bethel Chapel was built in 1910, to serve recent Welsh immigrants. Regular Welsh-language services continued at Bethel until 1936.

Oral history

An oral history of the Patagonian Welsh near Bangor was conducted by Glenys James in 1974. The tapes from those interviews are held by the National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

, and many were used in the making of ''Lleisiau Patagonia 1902'', a 2015 BBC television documentary.Eryl Crump
"The Forgotten Story of the Welsh Migration from Patagonia to Canada"
''Daily Post'' (22 December 2015).

References

{{reflist Welsh diaspora History of Saskatchewan