Battleford

History

The Battleford area, dating from the 1770s, was the site of fur trading houses of numerous independent companies as well as the Hudson's Bay Company (that opened its Battleford, or Battle River post circa 1868). William Holmes operated a trading post for the North West Company just above the confluence of the Battle and Saskatchewan rivers in 1784. At least three posts were in use between 1868 and 1914.

The town itself was founded in 1875 as a fur trading post and North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) fort. Its post office opened in 1877.{{cite encyclopedia |access-date = 2013-12-08 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071231110719/http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/battleford.html |archive-date = 2007-12-31 |url-status = dead

In 1883, the Battleford Industrial School opened. A residential school for First Nations children in Battleford, it operated from 1883 to 1914. It was the first residential school operated by the Government of Canada with the aim of assimilating Indigenous people into the society of the settlers. The school was one of three industrial schools opened by the Government of Canada in the early 1880s. The senior officials of the Department of Indian Affairs arranged for various religious denominations to administer and operate the schools. The federal government delegated responsibility for the Battleford school to an Anglican minister.

In 1888, the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed in the area. In 1892, Hudson's Bay Company opened a new store in Battleford, which closed in 1910.

Looting of Battleford

Main article: Looting of Battleford

On March 30, 1885, during the North-West Rebellion, the town of Battleford was looted by a party of Cree, who were short on food due to declining bison populations. When the Cree approached Battleford, the 500 residents{{Citation |publication-date = 1888

Geography

Battleford is located along the North Saskatchewan River near the mouth of the Battle River. It is bordered by the Rural Municipality of Battle River No. 438, as well as by the city of North Battleford and a small section of the Rural Municipality of North Battleford No. 437.

Climate

Climate data is taken from North Battleford Airport located 5.41 km northeast of the town.

North Battleford and the surrounding area experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb). The average high during the end of July is 24.6 C and the average low is 11.3 C. For the middle of January the average high is -12.3 C and the average low is -22.6 C.

The highest temperature ever recorded in North Battleford was 39.5 C on July 13, 2002. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -51.7 C on February 1, 1893 and January 12, 1916.

Demographics

In the 2021 Canadian census conducted by Statistics Canada, Battleford had a population of 4.400 living in 1,758 of its 1,877 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 4,429. With a land area of 23.26 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

The median age of the population in 2021 was 41.6, compared to the provincial figure of 38.8, and 79.6% were over the age of 15. The indigenous population was 23.9%, compared to 17.0% for Saskatchewan. Of the indigenous population, 52.9% were First Nations (Saskatchewan 64.5%), 43.1% were Métis (Saskatchewan 33.4%), and 3.4% gave other responses (Saskatchewan 2.1%).

|1901|609 |1911|1335 |1921|1229 |1931|1096 |1941|1336 |1951|1319 |1961|1627 |1971|1803 |1981|3565 |1991|4107 |2001|3820 |2006|3685 |2011|4065 |2016|4429 |2021|4400

Historic buildings

Main article: List of historic places in Battleford

National historic sites in Battleford include Fort Battleford National Historic Site of Canada, Battleford Court House National Historic Site of Canada and Old Government House / Saint-Charles Scholasticate National Historic Site of Canada. The Old Government House, built in 1878–1879, was destroyed by fire in 2003 and was the seat of Territorial Government from 1878 to 1883

Other historic places in Battleford include the Battleford Land Registry Office built between 1877 and 1878 is the last remaining building on Battleford's Government Ridge that dates from the Territorial era. Other heritage buildings include the District Court House, the Town Hall / Opera House, the Former Land Titles Building, the Station Building, the Fred Light Museum (St. Vital School), St. Vital Church, Gardiner Church and the Former Bank of Montreal Building.

File:Pano Fort Battleford.jpg|Fort Battleford File:Governmenthousebattleford.png|Old Government House File:Old Government House Battleford.jpg|Remains of Old Government House File:Battleford Court House.jpg|Battleford Court House

Attractions

• Fort Battleford, historical North-West Mounted Police fort near the confluence of Battle River and North Saskatchewan River
• Finlayson Island Nature Park on Finlayson Island, accessed from the old south Battleford Bridge

Local media

;Newspaper The local newspaper is The Battlefords News Optimist. It is published weekly on Thursday and has circulation in the surrounding area.

;Radio Three local radio stations serve the area; CJNB, CJCQ-FM ("Q98"), and CJHD-FM ("93.3 Beach Radio"). Some Saskatoon radio stations can also be received.

;Television The Battlefords are served by CFQC-TV-2 channel 6, an analogue repeater of CTV station CFQC-DT Saskatoon.

Notes

References

References

1. {{Cite cgndb. HACRM. Battleford
2. "Hudson's Bay Company: Battleford". Archives of Manitoba - Keystone Archives Descriptive Database.
3. Voorhis, Ernest. (1930). "Historic Forts of the French Regime and of the English Fur Trading Companies". Govt. of Canada.
4. Ray, Arthur. "William Holmes". University of Toronto/Universite Laval.
5. Morton, Arthur. (1973). "A History of the Canadian West". University of Toronto Press.
6. Martz, Lawrence. (2000). "Atlas of Saskatchewan". University of Saskatchewan.
7. (2015). "Honouring the truth, reconciling for the future : summary of the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.". [[National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation]], [[University of Manitoba]].
8. Wasylow, Walter Julian. (1972). "History of Battleford Industrial School for Indians". University of Saskatchewan.
9. (2025). "Our Watersheds: Battle River Watershed". Battle River Watershed Alliance.
10. (March 27, 2023). "1991-2020 Canadian Climate Normals Locations". [[Environment and Climate Change Canada]].
11. (October 31, 2011). "Climate Data Almanac for July 31". Environment and Climate Change Canada.
12. (October 31, 2011). "Climate Data Almanac for January 10". Environment and Climate Change Canada.
13. (February 1, 2023). "Battleford, Town (T) Saskatchewan [Census subdivision] & Battleford Saskatchewan [Population centre] & Saskatchewan [Province]". [[Statistics Canada]].
14. (October 27, 2021). "Battleford, Town [Census subdivision], Saskatchewan and Division No. 12, Census division [Census division], Saskatchewan". [[Statistics Canada]].
15. {{CRHP. 7611. Fort Battleford. 2013-12-07
16. {{CRHP. 7384. Battleford Court House. 2013-12-07
17. {{CRHP. 7644. Old Government House / Saint-Charles Scholasticate. 2013-12-07
18. {{CRHP. 2916. Government House, Battleford. 2013-12-07
19. {{CRHP. 2216. Battleford Land Registry Office. 2013-12-07
20. {{CRHP. 6817. District Court House. 2013-12-07
21. {{CRHP. 6826. Town Hall / Opera House. 2013-12-07
22. {{CRHP. 3314. Former Land Titles Building. 2013-12-07
23. {{CRHP. 1530. The Station Building. 2013-12-07
24. {{CRHP. 6818. Fred Light Museum (St. Vital School). 2013-12-07
25. {{CRHP. 6820. St. Vital Church. 2013-12-07
26. {{CRHP. 6824. Gardiner Church. 2013-12-07
27. {{CRHP. 2307. Former Bank of Montreal Building. 2013-12-07
28. "Battlefords Trails". Government of Saskatchewan.
29. Staff, battlefordsNOW. "CJHD transitions to endless summers as 93.3 BEACH RADIO".