Instow is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

within the Rural Municipality of Bone Creek No. 108,

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. The community is on

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 known as the historic

Red Coat Trail The Red Coat Trail is a route that approximates the path taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police in their March West from Fort Dufferin to Fort Whoop-Up. Route description A number of highways in southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and A ...

, about northeast of the town of Shaunavon.

Demographics

Instow, like so many other small farming

communities A community is a Level of analysis, social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place (geography), place, set of Norm (social), norms, culture, religion, values, Convention (norm), customs, or Ide ...

throughout Saskatchewan, has struggled to maintain a sturdy population causing Instow to become a complete

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

with few to no residents. Prior to January 1, 2002, Instow was incorporated under village status, but was dissolved into an unincorporated community under the

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

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 Bone Creek on that date. In 2006, Instow had a population of 1 living in 1

dwellings In law, a dwelling (also known as a residence, abode or domicile) is a self-contained unit of accommodation – such as a house, apartment, mobile home, houseboat, recreational vehicle, or other "substantial" structure – used as a home by on ...

, a 0% decrease from 2001. The village had a land area of and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of .

History

Early years

Instow was once a small community founded in 1914 with the building 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 ...

. C. Herbert, the first

post master ''Post Master'' is a 1964 Indian Kannada film, directed and produced by G. V. Iyer. The film stars B. M. Venkatesh, G. V. Shivaraj, Vandhana and Balakrishna in the lead roles. The film has musical score by Vijaya Bhaskar. Cast *B. M. Venkate ...

and founder of the small community, decided to name it after the small town of

Instow Instow is a village in north Devon, England. It is on the estuary where the rivers Taw and Torridge meet, between the villages of Westleigh and Yelland and on the opposite bank to Appledore. There is an electoral ward with the same name. The ...

, England, where he was originally from. During Instow's boom years in 1923 the town grew to a peak of 60 citizens and was incorporated to village

status Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to: * Status (law) ** Legal status, in law ** Political status, in international law ** Small entity status, in patent law ** Status conference ** Status c ...

. After incorporation, streetlights were installed throughout the village, and a well, sidewalks, a skating rink, a seven-metre snow slide for winter sports and a ball diamond were built. The village even had a its very own

fire engine A fire engine or fire truck (also spelled firetruck) is a vehicle, usually a specially designed or modified truck, that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...

, two general stores, a restaurant, a bank, a livery barn, a lumberyard, a community hall, an implement agency, a post office, a garage, a telephone office, a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

, a

pool hall A billiard hall, also known as a pool hall, snooker hall, pool room or pool parlour, is a place where people get together for playing cue sports such as pool, snooker or carom billiards. Such establishments commonly serve alcohol and often ...

, and a total of five

grain elevators A grain elevator or grain terminal is a facility designed to stockpile or store grain. In the grain trade, the term "grain elevator" also describes a tower containing a bucket elevator or a pneumatic conveyor, which scoops up grain from a lowe ...

Decline

In 1951 Instow's Village Council decided it would be best for the village to dissolve into an unincorporated community due to the rapid decline in its population. The community was struck once again with the closure of the post office in 1963. Over time many of the buildings in Instow have either been moved, demolished or simply rotted away, leaving very little to nothing of the community remaining.

References

Bone Creek No. 108, Saskatchewan Former villages in Saskatchewan Unincorporated communities in Saskatchewan Ghost towns in Saskatchewan Populated places established in 1914 1914 establishments in Saskatchewan Division No. 4, Saskatchewan {{SKDivision4-geo-stub

Demographics

History

Early years

Decline

See also

References