When the Dominion Government opened lands for homesteading, in 1872 — lands in the North West Territories were Dominion Government lands, often referred to as Crown lands. Those lands were administered from Dominion Lands Offices with a Land Agent in charge. The first Dominion Lands Office was erected in York City/Yorkton in 1882/1883. The agents were The York Farmers Colonization Company — the colonizing company that founded Yorkton. The first settlers were in majority from Ontario, other parts of Canada and the British Isles. A few years later, the Dominion government invited Americans to take up homesteads since they were used to farming on the Great Plains, could bring farm equipment, money, etc across the border. It was not until 1897 that the Minister of the Interior Clifford Sifton (appointed in the fall of 1896 by Laurier) began seeking immigrants from Western and Eastern Europe. Ukrainian, German, Scandinavian and others began arriving in the spring of 1897. Russian citizens — Doukhobors came to the Yorkton region in 1899. Not Yorkton per se — common mistake. They are often associated with Yorkton, not because they resided here, but because they had taken up free homesteads in the region.
— Land Titles offices were opened only after Saskatchewan and Alberta in 1905 became provinces and the Dominion Government transferred titled lands to Provincial jurisdiction. The Dominion Lands Office housed in the J.J. Smith Block on Argyle Street after Yorkton moved to the present site in 1890/91 stayed open until 1917, when there were no more, or very few Crown lands left in this region.
Photo — Howard Jackson Collection.
Contact Terri Lefebvre Prince,
Heritage Researcher,
City of Yorkton Archives,
Box 400, 37 Third Avenue North
Yorkton, Sask. S3N 2W3
306-786-1722
[email protected]
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