Mortlach () is a village in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

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 ...

within the Rural Municipality of Wheatlands No. 163 and Census Division No. 7. The village is on

Saskatchewan Highway 1 Highway 1 is the Saskatchewan section of the Trans-Canada Highway mainland route. The total distance of the Trans-Canada Highway in Saskatchewan is . The highway traverses Saskatchewan from the western border with Alberta, from Alberta Highwa ...

about 40 km west of the city of

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

. Thunder Creek passes the community to the north, where it is joined by Sandy Creek. Mortlach became a village on April 19, 1906, and is one of two towns in Saskatchewan to have been incorporated as a town (April 1, 1913) to then be reverted to village status on January 1, 1949; the other is the village of Alsask.

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 ...

, Mortlach 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 Mortlach 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.

History

Mortlach incorporated as a village on January 1, 1949.

Origin of name

While there are several theories about the origin of the name Mortlach, such as: it was named after an English village; it is a

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

translation of 'low hills'; and it may be a French term for 'dead lake' or Lac du Mort. The one that is generally accepted is that the village was named by George Stephen, the first president 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 ...

(CPR), for his home parish of Mortlach, Scotland. Other community names such as Parkbeg, Caron and Craigellachie, site of the 'Last Spike', also hail from his home parish. A church in

Dufftown Dufftown ( ) is a burgh in Moray, Scotland. While the town is part of the historic Mortlach parish, the town was established and laid out in the early 19th century as part of a planned new town settlement. The town has several listed 19th centur ...

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, with origins dating back to AD 525, bears the Mortlach name.

Homesteading days

In 1904, the

's (CPR) new line became operational and the Village of Mortlach came to life on land originally homesteaded in 1902 by a Khamis Michael, a native of what is today

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. By the spring of 1905, many people who had homesteaded the summer before along with new homesteaders began building. The first store, post office, and lumber and

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

supply would be owned by Mr. E.B. Tedford. Scribner and Wheeler built the first hotel in 1905 and the first school was built that fall. One year later, in 1905, Mortlach already had a Board of Trade with a strong business district including two businesses, three general stores, lumber and coal suppliers, post office, livery, hotel, meat market, and an implement and harness dealer. In the fall of 1905 there was a section house but no station until 1906, built along with an elevator. The first

Royal North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to ...

were stationed here in 1905 the same year that the

Province of Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a 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 United States (Montana and North Dako ...

was created. These were exciting times. The first weekly Mortlach newspaper was printed in

Caron A caron or háček ( ), is a diacritic mark () placed over certain letters in the orthography of some languages, to indicate a change of the related letter's pronunciation. Typographers tend to use the term ''caron'', while linguists prefer ...

and the

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

was also organized that year. The first doctor came to town that year and Mortlach fast became a popular place to stop and visit. 1907 saw many additional businesses grow, more hardware and implements, dry goods, general stores, harness shops, butchers, tinsmith, livery, real estate and insurance, and a hotel with a restaurant. 1907 was also the year of a

smallpox epidemic Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus ''Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO ...

, so a new house that was being built became an isolation hospital. The Bank of Hamilton opened a branch on Rose Street and Khamis Michael built a rink on Dean Street. The first

exhibition An exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within a cultural or educational setting such as a museum, art gallery, park, library, exhibiti ...

was held in that rink on August 4, 1908. Mortlach incorporated as a village in 1909 with about 700 residents. The Star Theatre was built in 1910 by A.C. Baker. Soon there were many more businesses in this thriving community: a Red and White Store, two restaurants, blacksmith, grocery store, two cobblers, butcher, baker, undertaker, embalmer, flour miller, electric repair shop, Chinese laundry, veterinarian, Beaver Lumber, Imperial Lumber,

Bank of Toronto The Bank of Toronto was a Canadian bank that was founded in 1855 by a group of grain dealers and flour millers. On February 1, 1955, it merged with the Dominion Bank to form the Toronto-Dominion Bank. Its first president was James Grant Chewett, ...

, photo studio, newspaper publisher, livery stable and auto garage, and another implement shop.

Government

The village is governed by a village council composed of a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

, four

councillors A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or regi ...

and a village administrator. Municipal elections are held every four years.

Notable people

* Jack Poole,

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

-based businessman (April 14, 1933 – October 23, 2009) * Megan Nash, Moose Jaw-based singer songwriter

Attractions

Mortlach has a number of attractions, including a community

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

, churches, parks and restaurants, a library, museum and the local scenery. Music plays a part in Mortlach's culture – from the Mortlach Old Time Fiddlers to the community choir. In July 2009, Mortlach was awarded an artist in residence for a year.Mortlach Website
/ref>

Education

Mortlach has one school that offers

Kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cen ...

through grade 12, and supports its academic program with a mix of sports, cultural, and social aspects.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Villages in Saskatchewan Wheatlands No. 163, Saskatchewan Division No. 7, Saskatchewan