Govenlock, Saskatchewan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Govenlock was once a small village of 151 in Reno Rural Municipality No. 51

Reno No. 51, Saskatchewan

Reno No. 51 is a rural municipality in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, located in the Census Division 4, just north of the USA border, and east of the Alberta border, in the southwestern corner of the province...

, Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The former townsite of Govenlock is located on Highway 13

Saskatchewan Highway 13

Highway 13 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from the Alberta border until it transitions into Highway 2 at the Manitoba border near Antler. Highway 13 is about 676 km long.Highway 13 passes through Shaunavon, Assiniboia, Weyburn, Redvers and Carlyle...

also known as the historic Red Coat Trail

Red Coat Trail

The Red Coat Trail is a route that approximates the path taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police in their quest to bring law and order to the Canadian West.-Travel route:...

, about 15 km east of the Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

-Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

border

Border

Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...

. Very little remains of the former village of Govenlock, many cement foundations can still be found scattered around the town site, the only building that still stands as of 2008 is the old community hall and a commemorative plaque to remember Govenlock's rich history.

Demographics

Govenlock, like so many other small communities throughout Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

, has struggled to maintain a sturdy population causing it to become a completely abandoned "ghost town

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

" with only a population of 0 citizens. Prior to January 1, 1976, Govenlock was incorporated under village status, but was restructured as a hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

under the jurisdiction of the Rural municipality of Reno on that date.

In 2006, Govenlock had a population of 0 living in 0 dwellings

House

A house is a building or structure that has the ability to be occupied for dwelling by human beings or other creatures. The term house includes many kinds of different dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to free standing individual structures...

, a 0% increase from 2001. The hamlet had a land area of 0 km² (0 sq mi) and a population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

of 0 /km2.

History

In 1910, a Moose Jaw

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan

Moose Jaw is a city in south-central Saskatchewan, Canada on the Moose Jaw River. It is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina. Residents of Moose Jaw are known as Moose Javians. It is best known as a retirement and tourist city that serves as a hub to the hundreds of small towns...

resident by the name of William Govenlock moved to the area with his family after applying for a homestead

Homestead (buildings)

A homestead is either a single building, or collection of buildings grouped together on a large agricultural holding, such as a ranch, station or a large agricultural operation of some other designation.-See also:* Farm house* Homestead Act...

. They were one of the first pioneer families of Southwest Saskatchewan. In 1913, William negotiated a land deal with the Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

, starting a new town later named in his honour. That same year William established a post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

for the area, his wife Bessie became the first operator for the post office.

In 1914 a pioneer named John Linder built Govenlock's first Hotel. The hotel stood two stories tall with ten rooms. Three years later a man named James Gaff stopped at the Hotel for a rest, after finding out that no rooms were available James immediately purchased the hotel for $4,500.

Even though the liquor trade was big business during that time, Govenlock's future looked promising even without the steady stream of liquor. The town boasted its impressive CPR station

Canadian Pacific Railway

, section house, a few grain elevators, two general stores, blacksmith

Blacksmith

A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...

shops, a livery barn, two machine agencies, pool room, laundromat, school, meant shop, a service station selling Model T Fords, and a hotel. Most of these businesses were connected by wooden sidewalks, a common feature in the pioneer prairie days.

Prohibition days

Due to Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

's prohibition declaration in 1919 large groups of Americans

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

traveled north from Montana

Montana

to Govenlock by train after making it across the border

Canada-United States border

The Canada–United States border, officially known as the International Boundary, is the longest border in the world. The terrestrial boundary is 8,891 kilometers long, including 2,475 kilometres shared with Alaska...

.

Indicating that Govenlock had a promising future, the pioneer town had a chamber of commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community...

. But it was the liquor that fueled Govenlock's commerce. Four liquor warehouses were established to serve the booming liquor trade. With liquor, there was gambling and parties, attracting not only the thirsty folks from across the border, but many bachelors from all parts of Southwestern Saskatchewan who wanted to let loose.

Over the years a pool room and dance hall which was a two-story building was built and owned by Henry Buss. During the early days of Govenlock, it was a place for Americans to meet and relax. As the Americans were waiting for their liquor orders, many would drop in, mingle with the business crowd in Govenlock, and settle down for a game of pool, and a game of high-stakes poker.

The revelry and good times were staples in Govenlock during their early days. The eager booze traders were also a staple in Govenlock. Americans would come to the pioneer town in their Fords, Studebaker

Studebaker

Studebaker Corporation was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the...

s, Packard

Packard

Packard was an American luxury-type automobile marque built by the Packard Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana...

s, and Hudson

Hudson Motor Car Company

The Hudson Motor Car Company made Hudson and other brand automobiles in Detroit, Michigan, from 1909 to 1954. In 1954, Hudson merged with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation to form American Motors. The Hudson name was continued through the 1957 model year, after which it was dropped.- Company strategy...

s. The empty cars' rears were filled with sand bags until they filled up at the liquor houses. This was done to avoid suspicion when they rode empty of booze. The Canadian

Canada

beer cost 12 cents per barrel and was said to be highly prized. Each barrel had three burlap sacks, with 24 four-quart bottles - wrapped in straw - in each sack. A barrel wholesaled for $24. When it reached the United States, it sold for $140. A carload of 14 barrels of beer and five cases of whiskey could fetch a profit of $2,500.

The bootlegging trade was good business for the next number of years and there were few legal hassles for the rumrunners

Rum-running

Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...

. Mounties

Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...

and provincial police would intervene to ensure that the liquor would end up in the hands of locals before crossing the United States border. Even a few of the Govenlock residents tried their hand at bootlegging, but they soon found out that more of the liquor was stolen than they could actually sell. To avoid legal problems, bootleggers would have to obtain a tourist pass at Canadian border entry points.

When 1922 rolled around, so did the end of bootlegging that fueled Govenlock's prosperity. It was then that the Government of Saskatchewan announced it wanted better control of the liquor trade and restricted liquor export houses to cities with 10,000 people or more. This saw the start of a slow end of the once promising pioneer town of Govenlock. Over the years and one by one, stores and shops would soon close and residents would leave. In 1962 the only grain elevator left in Govenlock toppled and demolished. By 1990, rural municipality

Rural municipality

A rural municipality, often abbreviated RM, is a form of municipality in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, perhaps best comparable to counties or townships in the western United States...

officials brought in the bulldozers and demolished the last of the remaining buildings that stood in Govenlock, including the old Govenlock Hotel. Today however the only building left is the community hall which was built in 1948. Also a commemorative plaque marks the area where Govenlock was located. It honors Govenlock's wild past and wild spirit of their hell-raising pioneer days.

External links

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