Kenaston, Saskatchewan

Kenaston is a village in the rural municipality of McCraney No. 282, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The Kenaston Post office was established on January 1, 1906, whereas the previous name was Bonnington, provisional district of Assinboia, North West Territories and this post office was formed October 1, 1904.^[1] Another previous naming for this community was Bonnington Springs.^[5] Kenaston is located on Highway 11 or Louis Riel Trail at the junction of Highway 15 and is also near Highway 19. This is a scenic area of Saskatchewan situated within the rolling Allan Hills geographical feature. Kenaston is located between Danielson Provincial Park and Blackstrap Provincial Park. The village population according to the municipality and 2006 census was 259 persons.^[6]

Kenaston hosts a sporting facility named Kenaston Place which brings to the village the event Super Draft. Kenaston Snowman Park is near the historic water tower restoration. Kenaston's large roadside attraction is a Snowman which is 18 Feet (5.5 Metres) in height and honours the nickname of Kenaston being the Blizzard capital of Saskatchewan. Bonnington Springs is the name of the campground at Kenaston. Kenaston Recreation Site is a conservation area near Kenaston at 17-29-2-W3.^[7][5][8][9]

Demographics

N/A = Data Not Available

Ethnic Roots

• Slovak and Scandinavian ethnic bloc settlements were near Kenaston.
• Croatian immigrants settled in this area around Kenaston. Croatian family backgrounds are set out in this article Kenaston, Saskatchewan’s Croatian Pioneers^[11]

Notable natives

• Bill Hobel was a World War II veteran and Kenaston general store owner.
• Allan Kerpan is a politician born in Kenaston.
• Logan McVeigh, is a ice hockey player.
• Lucas Ringdal was famously voted #3 on the 2011 College of Agriculture Most Studly List.^[12]
• Lynne Yelich is the Member of Parliament representing the federal riding of Blackstrap. She was raised in Kenaston and continues to call Kenston home.^[13]
• A large number of Creelmans in Saskatchewan and indeed western Canada can trace their ancestry to William Alexander Creelman of Stewiacke, who settled in Kenaston at the turn of the 19th century.

History

Kith ‘n Kin History Book details the history of the area around Kenaston. This book relates that the Vice President of the Saskatchewan Valley Land Company, F.E. Kenaston, was the village's namesake.^[14]

Saskatchewan Railways and Railway Stations

(historic or current)

C.N currently serves Kenaston; however the line terminates at Davidson where the Last Mountain Railway Craik subdivsion begins and takes over the remainder of the line.^[15]

^[16]

The settlement was first known as Bonnington Springs, Assinboia, North West Territories but usually referred to as “Bonnington”. In late 1905, when Saskatchewan became a province, the name was changed to “Kenaston”, honoring F.E. Kenaston, who was the Vice President of the Saskatchewan Valley Land Company.

The railroad reached Bonnington in late 1889, but there is no record of any permanent residents until 1902. In this year, the Saskatchewan Valley Land Company was formed, made up of wealthy men from the States. The president was Col. A.D. Davidson and one of his associates was F.E. Kenaston, who was head of the Minneapolis Threshing Machine Company.

The Saskatchewan Valley Land Company purchased 839,000 acres (3,400 km²) of land from the railway for $1.53 an acre and another 250,000 acres (1,000 km²) from the Dominion Government for $1.00 an acre. By adopting spectacular methods of advertising and employing dozens of land agents, the wide open spaces between Regina and Saskatoon were peopled with hundreds of settlers in the time between 1902 and 1910.

Needs of settlers created a necessity for business places and the settlement grew and was incorporated as a village in July 1910. The Kenaston School opened its doors to its first fourteen pupils in August 1905, while the town was still officially known as Bonnington. The first store was built in 1903, the post office and hotel were established in 1904, the first telephone installed in 1909, and the first of Kenaston’s grain elevator was built in 1906 by the Canadian Elevator Company. In 1910, the 40,000 gallon water tower was built by CNR in proximity to the train station and just across from the first hotel.

Media

The Davidson Leader is a newspaper which serves Kenaston.

Education

Kenaston is part of the Sun West School Division

Area statistics

• Lat (DMS) 51° 30' 00" N
• Long (DMS) 106° 17' 00" W
• Dominion Land Survey 19-29-2-W3

Time zone (cst) UTC-6

See also

• Highway 19
• Highway 15
• Highway 11
• Corman Park No. 344, Saskatchewan

References

External links

• Official website
• Blizzard Capital and Country Elevator, Kenaston, Saskatchewan