Girvin is a former

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

of 20 people in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada. It is located midway between Regina and

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 ...

on Highway 11 between the towns of Davidson and Craik. The village was formally dissolved in 2005; its remaining population is now counted as part of the rural municipality of Arm River.

History

Prior to December 19, 2005, Girvin was unincorporated as a

, and was restructured as a

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

under the jurisdiction of the

rural municipality A rural municipality is a classification of municipality, a type of local government, found in several countries. These include: * Rural municipality (Canada), Rural municipalities in Canada, a Lists of municipalities in Canada, type of municipa ...

of Arm River on that date.

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; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Girvin had a population of 25 living in 11 of its 11 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 15. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

History

The town’s name was in honour of John Alexander Girvin, a

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

-based contractor who was responsible for the construction of countless railroad stations across the prairies. The Qu’Appelle, Long Lake, and Saskatchewan Railroad and Steamboat Company railway passed through the area in the 1890s. Settlement of the area followed soon after, in about 1902 and consisted mostly of immigrants from Ontario. A school (which closed in 1970) and post office opened April 1, 1905 with a restaurant, veterinarian,

Massey-Harris Massey Ferguson is an agricultural machinery manufacturer, established in 1953 through the merger of farm equipment makers Massey-Harris of Canada and the Ferguson-Brown Company, Ferguson Company of Ireland. It was based in Coventry then moved t ...

dealership, lumber yard, butcher, hotel, bank, livery, blacksmith and a 3 story hotel following soon after. In 1907, the community had grown to such a size that it was incorporated as a village. Over the next few years, the town continued to grow and at its height, in 1915, the town boasted three grain elevators (the British America elevator, the Canadian Elevator Company elevator and the S.G. Detchon elevator.) The town also had hockey, football, curling and baseball teams. Girvin’s population peaked at 151 people in 1926 but slid to only 93 residents in 1941, only to rebound slightly in the 1950s with 140 people. This however, was only a short-term reprieve. Beginning in the 1960s, the population once again began to fall. By the 1980s the only business left in town was a gas station and garage. In 2004 the skating rink collapsed. Girvin lost its village status on December 19, 2005. Today there are twenty residents with no businesses but the town is home to a large metal sculpture of a

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

and Red River Cart created by Don Wilkins.

Attractions

The Girvin Pump House, constructed in 1906, is situated on a 380-square metre piece of land near the railway tracks. It provided water for horses hauling grain into town and some townspeople also used its water for doing laundry. It is the only pump house in Saskatchewan and has been recognized as a Municipal Heritage Property since 1994. Originally, it worked by the way of a gas pump that drew water to a tank at the top of the pump house. The tower portion of this building is a smaller version of the traditional railway water towers that were common across the prairies. The gas pump was subsequently replaced with an electric one. When the horses needed water, a rope was pulled, which released the water and filled a horse trough at the front of the building. Eventually, as cars and tractors replaced horses on the farm, the pump house fell out of use.

Gallery

File:Girvin Saskatchewan 2013.JPG, View down King Street File:Girvin 5 (11759333646).jpg File:Girvin 6 (11758984374).jpg File:Girvin 1 (11758808703).jpg File:Girvin 4 (11758577355).jpg File:Girvin 2 (11759323226).jpg File:Girvin 7 (11758587455).jpg File:Girvin 3 (11758574635).jpg File:Girvin12-Regina142.jpg, Sign for Girvin on Highway 11

References

{{authority control Arm River No. 252, Saskatchewan Designated places in Saskatchewan Former villages in Saskatchewan Unincorporated communities in Saskatchewan Populated places disestablished in 2005 Heritage sites in Saskatchewan

History

Demographics

History

Attractions

Gallery

See also

References