Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan

 1,114 miles (7 miles, recovery day)

This is my northernmost stop (50.54° N latitude).  Soon I begin to veer southward.

E. Pauline Johnson
c. 1895

Jan 17 – The Canadian Pacific Railway arrived here and the post office was founded in 1882.  The place was originally called Troy, possibly named after Troy, Ontario.  The name "Qu'Appelle" was a corruption of “qui appellee”, French for "Who calls?".  This refers to a once-popular legend of the Qu'Appelle Valley written by E. Pauline Johnson, an acclaimed Mohawk-English-Canadian poet in the later 1800s.  Original settlers hung onto the old name of "Troy" well into the 20th century.

In its early years, Qu'Appelle was expected to become the major city of the North-West Territories by both the federal government and the Church of England in Canada.  It was under serious consideration by the federal government to be the administrative headquarters for the District of Assiniboia, which corresponded to the southern portion of the present day province of Saskatchewan, and territorial headquarters of the North-West Territories.  Regina was chosen instead.

A former church that has become a private home

Qu'Appelle has declined, and there are no longer any retail outlets, service stations, banks, barbers or beauty parlors, or a post office in the town.  A succession of fires from the 1950s through the 2000s comprehensively removed wooden historic commercial buildings from Main Street, and it is now almost entirely lined with vacant lots and abandoned buildings.  The town council for a time advertised lots for sale at one dollar as a means of attracting new residents, which brought several mobile homes into town.

Qu’Appelle has become a bedroom community for commuters to Regina.  According to the Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan, "about 80% to 90% of the town’s workforce drives to and from the city each day".

 info: Wikipedia.com