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Assiniboia: a railway village empowered through history

Lots for Assiniboia’s townsite were sold by the Canadian Pacific Railway – at this time, the corporation was building a branch line through southern Saskatchewan in October 1912.

Lots for Assiniboia’s townsite were sold by the Canadian Pacific Railway – at this time, the corporation was building a branch line through southern Saskatchewan in October 1912.

Several men were said to have stayed up overnight to purchase lots in the area where Assiniboia would be constructed in the community once known as Leeville.

The name Leeville came from the post office in future Assiniboia. Leeville lasted as an official designation for the area from March 30, 1908 until November 23, 1912.

Two months after the first lots were sold in October, the spread of temporary buildings in the area once known as Leeville officially became the Village of Assiniboia on December 22, 1912.

Assiniboia was chosen because the name meant “One who cooks with stones.” The name Assiniboia held a specific meaning and history, since before the advent of the railway and the Leeville Post Office, the prospective townsite had been a traditional meeting area for the First Nations.

A total of 980 lots in the village were sold by January 1913 in the growing village.

The first village council to be elected in January 1913 and included W. Leggott, W.E. Dennison and W.A. Furlong. At the time, the council met in different businesses, including the Bank of Toronto, Butler and Nolan and Butler Bros.

Assiniboia became a town on October 2, 1913. The town expanded with a population of 1200 along with over 40 established businesses by 1914.

The town modernized as the growing municipality gained concrete sidewalks in 1922 on both sides of Centre Street. Further, the main thoroughfare in the growing community was gravelled in 1928.

Other developments in Assiniboia followed.

The office for the RM Lake of the Rivers gained an office on Fourth Avenue East in 1923. Assiniboia acquired a covered grandstand built by John Grenwold at the exhibition grounds in 1926.

At night, Assiniboia’s Centre Street in earlier years was lit by six gas lights beginning in October 1914, but electricity was on its way.

Tenders were accepted in April 1916 for engines, a generator, an exciter switchboard, street lighting apparatus meters, mast arm cutoffs and transformers. Assiniboia’s new powerhouse was constructed at the site of water treatment plant.

Sewer lines were built in Assiniboia from 1931-1935 as a relief project during the Depression.

Assiniboia continued towards modernization into the 1950s, especially when natural gas fixtures were installed in many Assiniboian homes beginning in June 1957.

Assiniboia keeps pursuing innovative solutions for power sources in the 21st century.

The Gold 鶹ýAV Wind Energy Facility located on Red Coat Trail near the Assiniboia Regional Park Golf course has been in development since 2009 on nearly 34,000 acres of leased agricultural land.

This project consists of up to 59 turbines, an electrical collection system, access roads and a new wind collector substation.

The turbines in the project are connected through a 34.5 kilovolt underground collector line system converging at the wind collector substation.

The project developed by Potentia Renewables Inc. and built by Borea Construction has expanded since the ground breaking ceremony was held at the site on August 2019.

The $325-million Golden 鶹ýAV Wind Energy Facility willproduce 200 megawatts of wind energy by 2021. Moreover, each permanent magnet direct drive turbine will have 65 to 75 metre blades designed to stand on 110 metre-sized towers.

Some of the project’s completed towers are already visible at the wind farm near Assiniboia.

The wind farm is located on part on an historic gravel road – a section of the Red Coat Trail – an approximation of the 1,300-kilometre (810mi) route taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police who arrived to bring law and order in Western Canada.

Developments at Assiniboia’s wind farm have continued throughout the summer of 2020 along Red Coat Trail and just a few minutes south of the Assiniboia Regional Park Golf Course.

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