Nipawin () is a town 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, on the

Saskatchewan River The Saskatchewan River (Cree: , "swift flowing river") is a major river in Canada. It stretches about from where it is formed by the joining of the North Saskatchewan River and South Saskatchewan River just east of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan ...

portion of Tobin Lake. The town lies between Codette Lake, created by the Francois-Finlay Dam (built in 1986) and Tobin Lake, created by the E.B. Campbell Dam built in 1963, renamed from Squaw Rapids. The construction of Francois-Finlay Dam earned Nipawin the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

the "Town of Two Lakes". Nipawin is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Nipawin No. 487 and the Rural Municipality of Torch River No. 488 (the latter across the Saskatchewan River).

Highway 35 The following highways are numbered 35: The Karakoram Highway (Urdu language, Urdu: شاہراہ قراقرم, ''Śāhirāh-i Qarāquram''), also known as the KKH, National Highway 35 (Urdu language, Urdu: قومی شاہراہ ۳۵), N-35, and ...

and Highway 55 intersect in Nipawin. The Nipawin Airport and the Nipawin Water Aerodrome also serve the community. Nipawin is a

Cree The Cree, or nehinaw (, ), are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people, numbering more than 350,000 in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada, First Nations. They live prim ...

word meaning "a bed, or resting place" which referred to a low-lying area along the river now flooded by Codette Lake where

First Nations First nations are indigenous settlers or bands. First Nations, first nations, or first peoples may also refer to: Indigenous groups *List of Indigenous peoples *First Nations in Canada, Indigenous peoples of Canada who are neither Inuit nor Mé ...

women and children would camp and wait for the men to arrive.

History

The first permanent settlement of Nipawin occurred in 1910 with the establishment of a trading post. In 1924 a branch-line 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 ...

passed nearby, crossing the North Saskatchewan River over the Crooked Bridge, and the settlement was moved, building by building, to its current location alongside the railway line. The Nipawin Historical Society's publication, ''Bridging the years : Nipawin, Saskatchewan'', published in 1988, presents the settlement's early history.

Exploration and Fur trade

In 1751, a group of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

soldiers commanded by Joseph Boucher de Niverville may have built a short-lived fort, Fort La Jonquière, near the site of Nipawin. Severalfur trading posts may have operated at various times in the area, but they are poorly documented. In 1763

Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious and political leader and the founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. Publishing the Book of Mormon at the age of 24, Smith attracted tens of thou ...

reached the area from

York Factory York Factory was a settlement and Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) factory (trading post) on the southwestern shore of Hudson Bay in northeastern Manitoba, Canada, at the mouth of the Hayes River, approximately south-southeast of Churchill. York ...

. In 1768 James Finlay from Montreal built a post. François le Blanc, apparently the man known as "Saswe", had a post by that year or the next. In 1790 William Thorburn built there then moved to Hungry Hall the following year. In 1795 two posts operated in the area, one run by A. N. McLeod for the

North West Company The North West Company was a Fur trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

and another run by James Porter working for David Grant.

Recent history

On April 18, 2008, a downtown meat shop exploded, destroying three buildings as well as damaging several more. The explosion killed two and injured five. The explosion is suspected to have been caused by a backhoe that snagged and sheared a natural gas riser from the main line. The explosion prompted the implementation of a state of emergency by the mayor. The explosion received extensive national news coverage.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population 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 ...

, Nipawin 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.

Climate

Nipawin Experiences a

Humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

(

Koppen Koppen is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Dan Koppen (born 1979), American football offensive lineman * (1929–1990), German literary scholar * (1855–1922), German author * Otto C. Koppen (1901–1991), American aircraf ...

: Dfb) bordering on a

subarctic climate The subarctic climate (also called subpolar climate, or boreal climate) is a continental climate with long, cold (often very cold) winters, and short, warm to cool summers. It is found on large landmasses, often away from the moderating effects of ...

(Dfc), with long, extremely cold winters and short, warm summers. The highest temperature ever recorded in Nipawin was on July 19, 1941. The coldest temperature ever recorded was on January 8, 1930.

Economy

Nipawin is near the Fort à la Corne Provincial Forest, location of the world's largest diamond bearing

kimberlite Kimberlite is an igneous rock and a rare variant of peridotite. It is most commonly known as the main host matrix for diamonds. It is named after the town of Kimberley, Northern Cape, Kimberley in South Africa, where the discovery of an 83.5-Car ...

s and intensive diamond exploration activity. Other industries in the area include: agriculture, tourism,

canola oil Close-up of canola blooms Canola flower Rapeseed oil is one of the oldest known vegetable oils. There are both edible and industrial forms produced from rapeseed, the seed of several cultivars of the plant family Brassicaceae. Historical ...

processing, honey production, forestry, and commercialization of second-generation biofuels.

Attractions

This resort community has become a destination for fishing, camping, boating, golfing, hunting, and outdoor recreation. * Nipawin hosts several annual fishing events, including, the Great

Northern Pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (pikes). They are commonly found in brackish water, moderately salty and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). T ...

Festival, a summer-long event offering prizes for catching tagged fish. Other annual fishing events are the Codette Walleye tournament, Ladies Fish for Freedom tournament, Premier's Walleye Cup tournament, and the Vanity Cup Walleye tournament running the last weekend in September and the first week in October. * Nipawin and District Regional Park is about north of town. * The 18-hole Evergreen Golf Course is north of town at the regional park. It has been rated as one of the top 100 public courses in Canada and one of the top five in Saskatchewan. Annual events held at the Evergreen Golf Club are Bob Dow Memorial Golf Tournament and the Evergreen Classic Golf Tournament along with many other tournaments throughout the golf season. * Nipawin is along the Trans-Canada Snowmobile Trail. There are many other groomed trails that run around Nipawin along with snowmobile rallies.

Sports

* Curling is also found in Nipawin for the young and old. Nipawin hosts the Ladies, Men's and Seniors Bonspiels and the Evergreen Curling Classic. * The town is home to the Nipawin Hawks of the

Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years o ...

Education

Nipawin has three public schools: Central Park Elementary School, Wagner Elementary School, and L.P. Miller Comprehensive School. The town is home to the Nipawin Campus of Cumberland College with 360 students and Nipawin Bible College with 48 students.

Notable residents

* Sharon Butala, novelist * Dane Byers, NHL hockey player * Lyndon Byers, retired NHL player for the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

* Greg Classen, retired hockey player who played 90 games in the NHL for the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

* James Archibald Kiteley, provincial politician * Arthur McKay, painter and professor * Dave Pagan, professional baseball pitcher

References

External links

* {{Coord, 53, 21, 26, N, 104, 01, 09, W, region:CA_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Towns in Saskatchewan Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Pedlars (fur trade) Populated places established in 1910 1910 establishments in Saskatchewan Division No. 14, Saskatchewan Populated places on the Saskatchewan River