Horizon, located on the south side of Channel Lake, is 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 ...

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It previously held the status of village until December 31, 1973. The hamlet is located east of the Town of

Assiniboia Assiniboia District refers to two historical districts of Canada's Northwest Territories. The name is taken from the Assiniboine First Nation. Historical usage ''For more information on the history of the provisional districts, see also Distric ...

highway 13 The following roads may be referred to as Route 13 or Highway 13. For a list of roads named A13, see List of A13 roads. International * AH13, Asian Highway 13 * European route E13 * European route E013 Afghanistan *The Kabul–Behsud Highwa ...

Demographics

Prior to December 31, 1973, Horizon was incorporated as a

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 ...

, and was restructured as a

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 Bengough on that date.

History

The hamlet of Horizon was formed in 1912 with the coming of the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

. In 1917, with a population of 57, an application was made to make the community a village. The story is told that before the railroad went through the district two surveying parties were working in that vicinity, one for the Grand Trunk Pacific and the other for the Canadian Pacific Railway. At the spot where Horizon now stands these two parties came together. An argument followed. One of the surveyors made the remark "It looks as if we have come to the horizon". Out of this argument came the name for the village, later erected on that spot.

Business

The very first business was a

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

and post office, owned by Herbert Stanbridge in a building moved in from Moreland, Saskatchewan. This was quickly followed by a grocery store, a clothing store, a restaurant (the "Horizon Cafe",) a boarding house, a lumberyard, a hardware store, a pool room & barbershop, a blacksmith, a livery barn, a farm implement dealer, a photo studio, a liquor store and a mechanic, among many others. Today, there are no businesses in Horizon.

Community organizations

The village had organized a very active

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

branch. Every year an annual school field day was held with twelve schools participating. The village had an active tennis club with about 25 members. In addition, the following community organizations existed in Horizon over the years: Horizon School No. 3129 was established in 1912 after an application was made to the Department of Education to form a school division to service the 26 school age children who lived within a five-mile radius of Horizon. Eventually, a high school became necessary. and so an addition was built onto the school, creating a two-room school for grades 1-10. As time went on, fewer and fewer students attended the school. At first one room was closed, then the other in 1966. Students were bused to Bengough and the school was eventually sold and relocated out of the community. Horizon 4H Calf Club was established in 1945 by Charlie Ribey. Children from several surrounding school districts were members. An annual event called Achievement Days was held where participants showed off their horse racing and jumping skills. The club continued until 1950. Horizon 4H Grain Club was established in 1938 by Jack Johnston and became a Beef Club around 1945. Horizon Homemakers' Club Recreation Association Horizon Ball Club Horizon Poultry Pool Horizon

Wheat Pool A wheat pool is a co-operative that markets grain (mostly wheat) on behalf of its farmer-members. In Canada in 1923 and 1924, three wheat pools were created. They were agricultural cooperative, farmer-owned co-operatives, created to break the ...

Committee was formed in 1942. St. Cunegunda Church was a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church built in 1928 (closed in 1991) followed by a

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, p ...

in 1929. Prior to that, service was held in the home of several parishioners and later in a hall built in 1915. The first priest was Father Mollard who drove from

Weyburn Weyburn is the tenth-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. The city has a population of 11,019. It is on the Souris River southeast of the provincial capital of Regina, Saskatchewan, Regina and is north from the North Dakota border in the ...

by horse and buggy until the railway came to Horizon. The St. Cunegunda Roman Catholic Cemetery was established in 1914 abutting the Horizon Protestant Cemetery which itself was established in 1928. The former church is now called the Horizon Community Church Centre. Altar Society was formed in 1928 but was later dissolved and the Viceroy - Horizon Catholic Women's League took its place.

Transportation

In homesteading days, the Yellowgrass Trail ran through Horizon, taking horse and wagon traffic further west. Today, the community sits beside

Highway 13 The following roads may be referred to as Route 13 or Highway 13. For a list of roads named A13, see List of A13 roads. International * AH13, Asian Highway 13 * European route E13 * European route E013 Afghanistan *The Kabul–Behsud Highwa ...

, also called the Redcoat Trail and the

Ghost Town Trail The Ghost Town Trail is a rail trail in Western Pennsylvania that runs between Black Lick, Indiana County, and Ebensburg, Cambria County. Established in 1991 on the right-of-way of the former Ebensburg and Black Lick Railroad, the trail fo ...

. Horizon is also serviced by a former

branch. That rail line first came through in 1912. The first train station in Horizon was made out of a rail box car before a dedicated building was moved in from

Forward, Saskatchewan Forward is a hamlet in Norton Rural Municipality No. 69, Saskatchewan, Canada. It previously held the status of a village until December 31, 1947. Demographics Prior to December 31, 1947, Forward was incorporated as a village, and was restruc ...

. The CPR also built water tanks for the steam locomotives that were supplied with water from springs and wells dug south of the community. In 1996 the CPR line was abandoned. Three years later, a group of local farmers formed the

Red Coat Road and Rail The Red Coat Road & Rail Ltd. is a Canadian short line railway company operating on trackage in Saskatchewan. Red Coat Road & Rail Ltd. is a community owned short-line railways in Saskatchewan. The former Canadian Pacific Railway line from P ...

and purchased part of the branch line and a number of elevators, consisting of about 115 km of track between Pangman and

. Since then, the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a History of rail transport in Great Britain, British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, ...

has been contracted to operate the line on behalf of the Red Coat Road & Rail. Originally, there were three grain elevators in Horizon; North Star, Ogilvie Flour Mill and the Federal Grain Company (built in 1922). Today, only two grain elevators remain. A former

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 ...

(built in 1953) elevator and the original Federal grain elevator still stand. The Federal elevator has been recognized as a municipal heritage property. The elevator was purchased by the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool in 1972 who operated it until 1996 when the CPR branch line was abandoned. The elevator was later bought by the

in 1999. Today, a tourist railway, the

Southern Prairie Railway Southern Prairie Railway is a tourist railway operated by the Ogema Heritage Railway Association (OHRA) in Ogema, Saskatchewan. History Southern Prairie Railway offers train tours that travel from Ogema to Pangman, Saskatchewan and Horizon, Sas ...

, operates along the line and tours of the elevator in Horizon are available.

Natural disasters

Over the years, Horizon was the site of several natural disasters, including: * A large prairie fire in 1915 * A

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

in 1949 * The

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

from 1929-1939 * A devastating army worm infestation in 1937

Popular culture

The novel ''A Garden in the Wind'' (1975) by

Gabrielle Roy Gabrielle Roy (; March 22, 1909July 13, 1983) was a Canadian author from St. Boniface, Manitoba and one of the major figures in French Canadian literature. Early life Roy was born in 1909 in Saint-Boniface (now part of Winnipeg), Manitoba, an ...

and the film based on it, ''Where Will You Go Sam Lee Wong?'', are set in the town. The

Sinclair Ross James Sinclair Ross, CM (January 22, 1908 – February 29, 1996) was a Canadian banker and author, who wrote novels and short fiction about life on the Canadian Prairies. He is best known for his first novel, '' As For Me and My House''. Life a ...

novel '' As for Me and My House'' (1941) is also set in the town.

References

{{authority control Bengough No. 40, Saskatchewan Former villages in Saskatchewan Unincorporated communities in Saskatchewan Populated places disestablished in 1973 Ghost towns in Saskatchewan Division No. 2, Saskatchewan