Gravelbourg

History

Gravelbourg was settled in the early 1900s and was one of the French block settlements of the Gravelbourg-Lafleche-Meyronne area in southwestern Saskatchewan. In 1930 it became the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic diocese of Gravelbourg.{{cite web |access-date = 2014-04-03 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924062921/http://www.ourroots.ca/e/page.aspx?id=526714 |archive-date = 24 September 2015

Gravelbourg carries the name of its founder Abbé Louis-Pierre Gravel,{{cite DCB |volume=15 |first=Ghislaine Gravel |last=Bernier | access-date =2014-03-23 | title =Louis-Pierre Gravel | url =https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/gravel_louis_pierre_15E.html}} who was designated a Person of National Historic Significance in 1956. The inscription on the monument in Gravelbourg built in 1958 to honour him reads:

Gravelbourg celebrates its many cultures at its annual Summer Solstice Festival d'été .

Historic buildings

A number of heritage buildings are located within the community.

Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Cathedral, the former Convent of Jesus and Mary and the former Bishop's Residence were designated the Gravelbourg Ecclesiastical Buildings National Historic Site of Canada in 1995.

Gravelbourg Court House, College Mathieu Pavilion, Gravelbourg Post Office, Gaiety Theatre and Canadian National Railway Station are also listed heritage sites.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Gravelbourg had a population of 986 living in 438 of its 482 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,083. With a land area of 3.12 km2, it had a population density of in 2021.

In the 2011 Canada Census, out of a total of 1,116 residents 625 chose English while 300 chose French as their mother tongue. Thirty nine percent or 430 residents spoke both English and French. Gravelbourg's French-language Fransaskois community is the subject of a short documentary Les Fransaskois, produced for the documentary series The Grasslands Project.

Other languages spoken in Gravelbourg were: Bisayan languages (5), Chinese (10), Dutch (5), German (15), Korean (5), Lao (5), Spanish (5), Swahili (5) and Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) (50).

Climate

|Jan record high C = 12.8 |Feb record high C = 18.0 |Mar record high C = 24.0 |Apr record high C = 35.0 |May record high C = 37.0 |Jun record high C = 41.5 |Jul record high C = 42.8 |Aug record high C = 41.7 |Sep record high C = 39.4 |Oct record high C = 33.5 |Nov record high C = 22.8 |Dec record high C = 20.6 |year record high C = 42.8 |Jan record low C = -44.4 |Feb record low C = -48.9 |Mar record low C = -38.3 |Apr record low C = -28.3 |May record low C = -15.0 |Jun record low C = -8.9 |Jul record low C = -1.1 |Aug record low C = -3.9 |Sep record low C = -12.8 |Oct record low C = -26.0 |Nov record low C = -32.8 |Dec record low C = -41.5 |year record low C = -48.9 Canadian Climate Normals 1971–2000, accessed 27 July 2010

Education

École Gravelbourg School (Grades K to 12) is located on 1st ave in Gravelbourg. The principal is Jody Lehmann.{{cite web | access-date =2013-02-04}} The Convent of Jesus & Mary (Past: Gravelbourg Elementary School), is now home to the GCMC (Gravelbourg Community Music Centre).

The town has for the past four decades been noteworthy for College Mathieu, a francophone boarding school for boys and girls who wish to acquire or retain fluency in French. The College offers courses such as welding, nursing and early childhood education. The high school is now named École Mathieu de Gravelbourg and is run by Le CÉF. The school has attracted students from throughout the southern part of the province as well as other areas of Canada and overseas, notably Africa. It offers classes from Grade 8 to 12.{{cite web | access-date =2013-02-04 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130526220208/http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/college_mathieu_de_gravelbourg.html | archive-date =26 May 2013 | url-status =dead

École Beau-Soleil offers K to Grade 7 in French.{{cite web | access-date =2013-02-04 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120414062423/http://www.gravelbourg.ca/html/e/residents/education.html | archive-date =14 April 2012 | url-status =dead

Churches

Former Catholic bishopric

From 1930 to 1998 the town was the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic diocese of Gravelbourg, headed by a Francophone bishop. In 1998, Pope John Paul II suppressed the residential diocese, so that it is now a titular see. The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption was at that time designated a "co-cathedral" of the Archdiocese of Regina.{{cite web | access-date =2012-12-22 }}

Protestants

Lorne Calvert, the 13th Premier of Saskatchewan, was the minister of the United Church of Canada in Gravelbourg.{{cite web | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120614123740/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/lorne-calvert | url-status =dead | archive-date =14 June 2012 | access-date =2013-02-04}}

There are also the Gravelbourg Lutheran Church and the Church of Christ.

Notable people

• Larry Hornung, played in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, and in the WHA for the San Diego Mariners
• Gord Sherven, played in the NHL for the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, and Minnesota North Stars
• Toby Tarnow

References

References

1. "Gravelbourg (The Canadian Encyclopedia)".
2. "2011 Community Profiles". Government of Canada.
3. National Archives, Archivia Net. "Post Offices and Postmasters".
4. Government of Saskatchewan, MRD Home. "Municipal Directory System (Town of Gravebourg)".
5. "Directory of Communities by Saskatchewan Electoral District".
6. "Francophone land settlement in southwestern Saskatchewan by Beckey Hamilton".
7. {{DFHD. 1483. Gravel, Louis-Pierre National Historic Person. 2014-05-15
8. {{DFHD. 850. Gravelbourg Ecclesiastical Buildings National Historic Site of Canada. 2025-05-19
9. {{CRHP. 11188. Gravelbourg Ecclesiastical Buildings National Historic Site of Canada. 2013-04-04
10. {{CRHP. 7510. Court House. 2013-04-04
11. {{CRHP. 8402. College Mathieu Pavillion. 2013-04-04
12. {{CRHP. 8530. Gravelbourg Post Office. 2013-04-04
13. {{CRHP. 7058. Gaiety Theatre. 2013-04-04
14. {{CRHP. 8531. Canadian National Railway Station Building. 2013-04-04
15. (February 9, 2022). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada and designated places". [[Statistics Canada]].
16. (25 May 2016). "Projection du "Projet Grasslands" à Gravelbourg". L'Eau vive.
17. ''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 {{ISBN. 978-88-209-9070-1), p. 906