Yellow Grass

“Canada's Hot Spot” sign in the town of Yellow Grass. Photograph taken August 1, 2003.

David McLennan

Town, pop 422, located 25 km NW of Weyburn on Hwy 39. Yellow Grass is also located on the CPR SOO LINE, which runs from Moose Jaw through Estevan and down through the USA. It was about the time that the line was built, in 1893, that the first settlers began to arrive in the Yellow Grass area. The early population was predominantly German, and the Yellow Grass post office was established in 1896. On July 22, 1903, Yellow Grass was incorporated as a village. The two-storey stone school house built that year is still standing; it currently houses the library, and was designated a heritage property in 1982. On February 15, 1906, Yellow Grass attained town status. The community developed as the main agricultural service centre between Weyburn and Milestone, and agriculture remains the basis of the area economy. Grains are the main crops grown, but in recent years there has been an increasing production of pulse crops. Yellow Grass, along with the town of Midale to the southeast, holds the record for having had the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada: on July 5, 1937, the mercury hit 45° Celsius (113° Fahrenheit).

David McLennan