Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Wynyard, Saskatchewan

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Country
  
Canada

Settled
  
1905

Town
  
1911

Area
  
5.29 km²

Local time
  
Thursday 10:00 AM

Rural Municipality
  
Big Quill No. 308

Village
  
1908

Elevation
  
551 m (1,808 ft)

Population
  
1,767 (2011)

Province
  
Saskatchewan

Wynyard, Saskatchewan shopsaskatchewancomWynyardPicswynyardpicjpg

Weather
  
6°C, Wind S at 35 km/h, 53% Humidity

Wynyard is a town in eastern Saskatchewan, Canada, 132 km west of Yorkton and 190 km east of Saskatoon. Wynyard is in but not part of the rural municipality of Big Quill No. 308. It is located on the Yellowhead Highway just south of Big Quill Lake.

Contents

Map of Wynyard, SK, Canada

History

Many of the early settlers to the area around Big Quill Lake were of Icelandic origin, and the ethnic block settlement area was called the Vatnabyggd settlement. Sleipnir, a store and post office, was located at NE-30-22-15 and was the centre of community life of the Vatnabyggd settlement until it was moved into Wynyard in 1908.

The first wave of Icelandic settlers in the Wynyard area was soon followed by numerous Ukrainian settlers and then British, Polish and German settlers.

Demographics

  • Lat (DMS) 51° 46' 00" N
  • Long (DMS) 104° 11' 00" W
  • Dominion Land Survey Section 27 - Township 32 - Range 16 West of the 2nd Meridian
  • Time zone (cst) UTC−6

    • Attractions

    The Frank Cameron Museum is closed, but there is a very interesting museum, downtown, on Avenue B. It has a good selection of local historical artifacts and pictures, and occasionally has special exhibits, such as "wedding dresses through the decades".

  • Wynyard Regional Park is the local camping site located a few kilometres from town.
  • Wynyard is located just to the south of Big Quill Lake which is the largest saline lake in Canada.
  • Mud Lake Wildlife Refuge is 19 km (12 miles) from town.
  • Wynyard Golf Club (a 9 hole golf course) offers the Wynyard Hole in One Tournament, Wynyard Ladies Night Golf and Wynyard Men's Night Golf.
  • The Wynyard Swimming Pool and the Wynyard Stingrays Synchronized Swimming Team

    • Heritage Sites

    A number of designated heritage sites are located in or near Wynyard.

  • Wynyard Court House (built in 1927)
  • Canadian Pacific Railway Station (built in 1909)
  • Wynyard Federated Church (built in 1921)
  • Amma's House on the Yellowhead Highway approximately 17 kilometres west of Wynyard was built by Icelandic carpenters in 1919.
  • St. John Bohoslav Krasne Ukrainian Catholic Church approximately 20 kilometres southeast of Wynyard was built in 1940.

    • Activities and sports

    The Town of Wynyard has three sport teams: the Wynyard Blues Mens Fastball Team (baseball), the Wynyard Monarchs hockey team of the HHL (Highway Hockey League) and Wynyard Composite High School team the Wynyard Golden Bears.

    Wynyard plays host to many activities and groups such as Wynyard Air Cadets, Wynyard Minor Baseball, Wynyard Minor Hockey, Wynyard Fireman's Association, Wynyard Kinettes, Wynyard Kinsmen, Wynyard Legion, Wynyard School of Dance, Wynyard Senior Appreciation Days, Wynyard Senior Centre and Wynyard Shriners.

    Media

  • The local news is reported in the Wynyard Advance Gazette.
  • Television channel stations which reach Yorkton are CBC, CTV as well as all Yorkton channels.

    • Transportation

    Wynyard is located on Saskatchewan Highway 16. Wynyard was made a divisional point on the Canadian Pacific Railway when it came through. No longer providing passenger service the Wynyard railway station is a designated historical railway station.

    Wynyard/W. B. Needham Field Aerodrome and Greyhound buses also facilitate transportation in and out of Wynyard and area.

    Education

    The town is home to the Wynyard Elementary School and Wynyard Composite High School in the Horizon School Division #205. The high school team the Wynyard Golden Bears play basketball, football, volleyball, and soccer. The high school also participates in cross country, track, and badminton.

    The one room school house of the early 1900s was called Wynyard School District # 2499 and Nordra school # 1947. The latter offered a course in Icelandic when it was first constructed in 1907 as the early school administration allowed an hour each day from 3 pm to 4 pm for foreign language instruction. Currently there are several venues for education in Wynyard.

    Local history books

    Reflections by the Quills by Quill Historical Society of Wynyard, Saskatchewan.

    References

    Wynyard, Saskatchewan Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA