Ituna

Ituna, 1911. Ituna's first postmaster, S.A. Veals, is in the wagon with two horses in the centre of the photo. Buildings in the background include, from right to left, the Ituna Livery Stable, the hardware store (with the staircase-shaped roof), the post office (with veranda), the Bank of British North America, and the pool room (with sign visible).

Ituna and District Museum

Town, pop 709, located 55 km NW of Melville on Hwys 15 and 310. The first settlers began making incursions into the area in the 1880s and 1890s; however, in the first few years of the 20th century a wave of people of British origins began to take up homesteads in the district. With the construction of the GRAND TRUNK PACIFIC RAILWAY through the region in 1907–08, the townsite began to develop. The railway brought to the district an influx of Ukrainian settlers, who would enrich the community with their cultural heritage. The Ituna post office was established in 1909, and in 1910 the young community was incorporated. Ituna developed as the major distribution and service centre for the surrounding agricultural district; in 1966, it reached a peak population of 975. Agriculture remains the basis of the Ituna area economy, and two grain companies and numerous trucking services handle agricultural exports. A variety of crops are grown in the district, and cattle and hog operations add diversity to the area’s agricultural production.

David McLennan