Spiritwood

Town, pop 907, located 125 km W of Prince Albert and about 110 km NE of North Battleford at the junction of Hwys 3, 24, and 378. The district began to be settled around 1911–12; however, growth in the area was slow until the coming of the railway in the late 1920s. The first settlers primarily engaged in Ranching. The Spiritwood post office, which had been established in 1923, was named after Spiritwood, North Dakota, the hometown of the first postmaster, Rupert J. Dumond. After the railway arrived, settlers of diverse origins poured into the district and many businesses were established. On October 1, 1935, Spiritwood was incorporated as a village and, by September 1, 1965, the community had grown large enough to attain town status. Today, as the largest community in the region, the community functions as the major supply, service, and administrative centre for a trading area population of several thousand including four First Nations communities. Mixed farming predominates and consists primarily of grain production. A Spiritwood company that focuses on pig genetics, producing breeding stock and commercial swine, has roughly 50 employees. There is some Forestry in the region north of Spiritwood. The town has a complete range of recreational facilities and, additionally, there are six Golf courses in the district, six Regional Parks, and about 35 lakes within an hour’s drive.

David McLennan