Saskatchewan History

Introduction
This information can help you determine significant culture, ecclesiastical, and political events in the history of Saskatchewan. You will need some understanding of the historical events that affected your family and the records about them. Learning about wars, governments, laws, migrations, and religious trends may help you understand political boundaries, family movements, and settlement patterns. Records of these events, such as land and military documents, may mention your family.

Your ancestors’ lives will be more interesting if you learn about the history they may have been part of. For example, in a history you might learn about the events that occurred the year your great-grandparents were married.

History
The first permanent European settlement was a Hudson's Bay Company post at Cumberland House, founded in 1774 by Samuel Hearne. In 1762 the south of the province was part of the Spanish Louisiana until 1802. In 1803 the Louisiana Purchase transferred from France to the United States part of what is now Alberta and Saskatchewan. In 1818 it was ceded to the United Kingdom. Most of what is now Saskatchewan, was part of Rupert's Land and controlled by the Hudson's Bay Company. A seminal event in the history of what was to become Western Canada was the 1874 "March West" of the federal government's new North-West Mounted Police. Despite poor equipment and lack of provisions, the men on the march persevered and established a federal presence in the new territory. The population grew and on September 1, 1905, Saskatchewan became a province, with inauguration day held September 4. The Dominion Lands Act permitted settlers to acquire one quarter of a square mile of land to homestead and offered an additional quarter upon establishing a homestead. 

Timeline

 * 1524-1529: All lands to the west in this continent are referred to as Nova Franca or Nova Gallia (New Gaul) on early maps.
 * 1668 Rupert's Land Act.
 * 1670 Today’s Saskatchewan was a part of the territory given to the Hudson’s Bay Company. The early history of this province was linked closely to the fur trade.
 * 1754 Anthony Henday explored the Saskatchewan River.
 * 1763 Proclamation of 1763 gives the lands of the northwest to Quebec.
 * 1774 Cumberland House, the first trading post, was established by the Hudson’s Bay Company.
 * 1775 Île-à-la-Crosse is established.
 * 1783 Treaty of Versailles establishes new Canada-United States border.
 * 1792-1794 Peter Fidler explored and maps the Athabasca River and the north and south branches of the Saskatchewan River for the Hudson's Bay Company.
 * 1794 Jay's treaty negotiates United States - Canada border.
 * 1821 North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company were united.
 * 1846 Treaty of Oregon establishes 49th parallel as United States-Canaeda boundary in the plains region (southern Saskatchewan).
 * 1857-1860 Palliser, and Hind surveyed the southern prairie region for the Imperial Government defines the Palliser Triangle.
 * 1870 July 15, 18709, Rupert’s Land was bought from the Hudson’s Bay Company Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory organized into the North-West Territories.
 * 1870 Manitoba Act sees migraton of Métis to Saskatchewan area to claim lands.
 * 1871 Treaty 2 signed with Moose Mountan First Nations Saulteaux.
 * 1872 Canadian Pacific Act and Canada's Homestead Act- Dominion Lands Act: passed affecting transfer of land sales.
 * 1873 Fort Livingstone capital of the North West Territories.
 * 1873 Cypress Hills Massacre.
 * 1875: The North-West Territories were re-organized under the federal government.
 * 1876 Treaty 6 is signed with First Nations.
 * 1878 Battleford the new capital of the North West Territories.
 * 1879 John Macoun exploration expedition claims southern Saskatchewan suitable for agriculture.
 * 1882 The southern region of the North-West Territories was divided into four districts; three were named Assiniboia, Saskatchewan and Athabaska (or Athabasca). These provisional districts covered the area of today’s Saskatchewan with different boundaries to the east and west than the current province.
 * 1884 Local improvement districts (LIDs) form to provide municipal infrastructure and fire guard services.
 * 1882 North West Mounted Police were headquartered at Regina.
 * 1885 The Northwest Rebellion outbreak was headed by Louis Riel.
 * 1885 The Canadian Pacific Railroad was completed. Many immigrants began to settle in southern Saskatchewan.
 * 1897 Rural municipalities RMs are replacing local improvement districts, LIDs
 * 1899 More than seven thousand Doukhobors from the Crimea immigrated into southern Saskatchewan.
 * 1905 The Province of Saskatchewan was formed as part of the Dominion of Canada, Regina is named the capital city (the following year the "North-West Territories become the Northwest Territories without a hyphen).
 * 1907 University of Saskatchewan was founded in Saskatoon.
 * 1930 Saskatchewan acquired control over its natural resources.
 * 1932-33 The CCF Party was formed.
 * 1946 The first public hospitalization plan in Canada was enacted in Saskatchewan.
 * 1956 Uranium was developed at Lake Athabasca.

Historical Sources
The Family History Library has some published national, provincial, and local histories. See the Locality Search of the FamilySearch Catalog Surname Search under:


 * CANADA - HISTORY [PROVINCE] - HISTORY
 * [PROVINCE], [COUNTY] - HISTORY
 * [PROVINCE], [COUNTY], [CITY] - HISTORY
 * [PROVINCE], [CITY] - HISTORY


 * A Short History of Canada


 * The Atlantic Provinces: The Emergence of Colonial Society, 1712–1857

Canadian Sources
Encyclopedias also include excellent articles on the history of Canada. Many books and articles on Canadian history are listed in these annotated bibliographies:


 * A Reader's Guide to Canadian History. I. Beginnings to Confederation.


 * A Reader's Guide to Canadian History. II. Confederation to the Present.

Local Histories
Local histories are some of the most valuable sources for family history research. They describe the settlement of the area and the founding of churches, schools, and businesses. You can also find lists of early settlers, soldiers, and civil officials. Even if your ancestor is not listed, information on other relatives may provide important clues for locating your ancestor. A local history may also suggest other records to search.

Published histories of towns, counties, districts or other municipalities, and provinces often contain accounts of families. Many district, county, and town histories include sections or volumes of biographical information. These may give information on as many as half of the families in the area. A county history is also the best source of information about a county’s origin.

The Family History Library has about 300 district histories from the Prairie Provinces and fewer township and county histories from the rest of Canada. Similar histories are often at major Canadian public and university libraries and archives.

Bibliographies that list histories for some provinces are in the Locality Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:


 * [PROVINCE] - BIBLIOGRAPHY
 * [PROVINCE] - HISTORY - BIBLIOGRAPHY