Vidora 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 Reno No. 51,

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 once had a population of 200 people in 1940 and has since declined to 1 resident. It previously held village status until it was dissolved as an unincorporated community on January 1, 1952. The community is located between Robsart and

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

on Highway 21 and

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 ...

, known as the

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 ...

. Very little remains of the former village, only one home that is also used as a post office still stands as of 2008. There are many cement foundations and sidewalks still found scattered around the town site, including the remnants of the old bank vault to the former Municipality Office that was moved to Consul.

History

left, 200px, CPR station In 1910, construction 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 ...

line came through Vidora. Many of the CPR's engineers and surveyors were housed at a local farm house during construction of the rail line. Living at the same house where two girls named "Vivian" and "Dorothy", the engineers and surveyors decided to use their names to name the new area, because of their great hospitality, thus giving the town its name "Vidora". After the land was named, settlers as well as

bootleggers A bootleg is the upper part (or shaft) of a boot. Bootleg, bootlegging or bootlegger(s) may also refer to: Common meanings * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages * Moonshine, illicitly made an ...

began to settle the area starting the community of Vidora. By 1917, the community was incorporated as a village, and now had its very own town Council, and mayor. After becoming a village, Vidora began to grow quite fast and prosperous. By 1920, the village business districts consist of more than twenty businesses, including businesses such as a post office, cafe, pool hall, main hall, banks,

lumber yard A lumber yard is a location where lumber and wood-related products used in construction and/or home improvement projects are processed or stored. Some lumber yards offer retail sales to consumers, and some of these may also provide services s ...

s, general stores, a hotel and a row 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 ...

. Vidora even had its own electrical power plant. Prior to January 1, 1952, Vidora was incorporated as a village, and was restructured as an unincorporated community under the jurisdiction of the Rural Municipality of Reno No. 51 on that date.

Prohibition

Like most towns throughout

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

and Saskatchewan, Vidora began as a small parcel of land owned by the

. Like many towns of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan, such as Govenlock,

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and Whiskey Gap, Vidora had a fair amount of bootleggers that came into the area to smuggle rum, alcohol, and whisky across the border during

prohibition in the United States The Prohibition era was the period from 1920 to 1933 when the United States prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, an ...

The Great Depression

left, 200px, Fire of 1924 wiping out many crucial businesses Vidora's future looked promising but due to 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 ...

years, with accompanying droughts, falling grain prices and poor crop yields, Vidora's population slowly began to decline. Beginning in 1924 a devastating fire destroyed many important businesses including Vidora's first store, post office, cafe, pool hall and main hall. Then in 1926 and 1928 more vital businesses would also be wiped out by fire. In 1936 the CPR station closed and afterwards moved to

Frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

. In 1961 the Vidora General Store was moved to Robsart, then in 1969 the rural municipal office was also moved to Consul as did the Vidora Community Hall in 1976. To mark the end of its long prosperous life, Vidora's five

closed and were torn down sometime in the 1970s or 1980s.

Notable people

Lee Morrison Lee Glen Morrison (born 6 March 1932 in Vidora, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian politician, formerly a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1993 to 2000. He was first elected at the Swift Current—Maple Creek—Assiniboia electoral dis ...

(born March 6, 1932) was a member of the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada () is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Monarchy of Canada#Parliament (King-in-Parliament), Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of Ca ...

from 1993 to 2000.

References

{{Authority control Reno No. 51, Saskatchewan Former villages in Saskatchewan Unincorporated communities in Saskatchewan Populated places established in 1910 Ghost towns in Saskatchewan Division No. 4, Saskatchewan

History

Prohibition

The Great Depression

Notable people

See also

References