Prince Albert

The area was frequented by fur-traders from the late 18th century. In 1776, Peter Pond, explorer and fur-trader, built the first trading post on the north shore of the river just west of the present site of Prince Albert.

The next important development was the arrival of Reverend James Nisbet and a party of settlers who arrived in 1866 and established a Presbyterian mission around which the village grew. Reverend Nisbet named it Prince Albert as a tribute to the consort of Queen Victoria.

Source: Russell, E.T. (1980): What's in a Name, 3rd edition, Western Producer Prairie Books, Saskatoon, p. 246.

Related Site:

• City of Prince Albert

Moose Jaw

There is a romantic version of the naming of Moose Jaw that goes like this:

A titled Lord from England was encamped on a small creek west of Regina in the early days engaged in a buffalo hunting expedition. One of the Red River carts used by the party broke down and the Englishmen repaired it with a moose's jaw bone. Amazed at the dexterity of the white man the Indians called the place Moose Jaw.

This version is pretty well discredited on the grounds that the nobleman cannot be identified; the name "Moose Jaw" appears in the Palliser (1857) and Settee (1861) journals before any titled travellers are known to have been in the area. Settee, an ordained Indian clergyman, calls it "Moose Jaw Bone" creek. The more generally accepted version now is that the name was applied by Indians and derived for the configuration of the creek.

Source: Russell, E.T. (1980): What's in a Name, 3rd edition, Western Producer Prairie Books, Saskatoon, p. 208.

Related Site:

• City of Moose Jaw

North Battleford

In 1905 when the Canadian Northern steel reached a point across the North Saskatchewan River from historic Battleford (the important town in the area at the time), the post office department called the place selected for the new settlement, North Battleford). It caused quite a furore at the time. The Battleford residents vigorously protested the ruling of the postal authorities, claiming that the adoption of "their" name for the new townsite would draw trade away from their community. In this they were proven correct. The infant townsite of North Battleford also protested. They wanted to be called Riverview. However, the postal department's decision stood.

By March 21, 1906, the population had reached 500 and the North Battleford was incorporated as a village. Four months later the village became a town.

Source: Russell, E.T. (1980): What's in a Name, 3rd edition, Western Producer Prairie Books, Saskatoon, pp. 219-220.

Related Site:

• City of North Battleford