Foam Lake

Town, pop 1,218, located SE of Wynyard at the junction of Hwys 16 and 310. The first family of settlers in the region arrived in the early summer of 1882; the Milligans named a shallow body of water in the region Foam Lake, as a froth often developed along its shores. The first Icelanders arrived in the district in 1892, and during the first decade of the 20th century many Ukrainians arrived to take up land. Settlement of the area was greatly hastened by the arrival of the railway at Sheho in 1904; three years later, as the CPR was pushing westward again, the townsite of Foam Lake was established. The first buildings were erected in 1907, and in 1908 the fledgling community was incorporated as a village. By the early 1920s, the population was well over 400, and in 1924 Foam Lake attained town status; it became the major service and distribution centre for the surrounding agricultural district. Town and area attractions include: the Foam Lake Museum, housed in the former 1926 town hall; the 1915 Douglas Heritage House; and the Foam Lake Heritage Marsh, an important staging area for migratory Birds.

David McLennan