Neidpath, Saskatchewan
Encyclopedia


Neidpath, is 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...

 in Coulee Rural Municipality No. 136
Coulee No. 136, Saskatchewan
Coulee No. 136 is a rural municipality in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, located in the Census Division 7, southeast of the city of Swift Current in the southwestern region of the province. The seat of the municipality is Swift Current.-Demographics:...

, 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 hamlet is located on Highway 363
Saskatchewan Highway 363
Highway 363 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Highway 4 to Highway 2 in Moose Jaw. Highway 363 is about 203 km long....

 and Highway 720
Saskatchewan Highway 720
Highway 720 is a highway in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It runs from Highway 363 near Neidpath to Highway 19 near Flowing Well. Highway 720 is about 21 km long....

 about 25 km east of the city of Swift Current
Swift Current, Saskatchewan
Swift Current is a small city in southwest Saskatchewan. It is situated along the Trans Canada Highway west from Moose Jaw, and east from Medicine Hat, Alberta. Swift Current grew 0.8% between 2001 and 2006 ending up at 14,946 residents. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Swift...

.

Demographics

In an era where homesteaders arrived in the early 1900s and communities were situated much closer together to accommodate a day's horse ride between neighbours, many of these communities have now disappeared firstly with the advent of rail, then auto and highway which makes transportation much easier, and larger centres further apart have arisen. This has caused many small rural communities though out the Canadian Prairies
Canadian Prairies
The Canadian Prairies is a region of Canada, specifically in western Canada, which may correspond to several different definitions, natural or political. Notably, the Prairie provinces or simply the Prairies comprise the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are largely covered...

 to dwindle in size or to completely disappear, such as Neidpath which has died to a population of just 9 residents.

History

Neidpath was named after Neidpath Castle
Neidpath Castle
Neidpath Castle is an L-plan rubble-built tower house, overlooking the River Tweed about 1 mile west of Peebles in the Borders of Scotland. The castle is closed to the public.-History:...

, near Peebles
Peebles
Peebles is a burgh in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scottish Borders, lying on the River Tweed. According to the 2001 Census, the population was 8,159.-History:...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. The name was suggested by the first postmaster
Postmaster
A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...

, John Mitchell, whose family emigrated from Peebles.

During its heyday Neidpath had four grain elevators, two of which still stand derelict
Abandonment
The term abandonment has a multitude of uses, legal and extra-legal. This "signpost article" provides a guide to the various legal and quasi-legal uses of the word and includes links to articles that deal with each of the distinct concepts at greater length...

 today. At one time Neidpath even had its own telephone company, The Neidpath Rural Telephone Central Office, two Chinese hotels and restaurants as well as the King George Hotel along Central Avenue, a pool hall, hardware store, and a blacksmith shop
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...

.

See also

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