Map Resources

Online Historical Map Digitization Project

and mirror site on Rootsweb/Ancestry.com

Search Saskatchewan Placenames!

Extensive compilation (including place name changes) of over 3,000 Saskatchewan locations and their SGW district

Saskatchewan School District Names!Ancestral forms may document a home district for the address, this listing compiles over 5,000 district names

Saskatchewan Gen Web is broken into regions or territories to assist researchers find databases, query board and mailing lists. These Regions are defined by boundaries and are shown on these Saskatchewan Gen Web regional maps. Regional Gen Web information. Saskatchewan Evolutionary Changes

Evolution of Saskatchewan's boundaries

Present-day Saskatchewan was first named Rupert's Land
Many of the early settlers in the 1800's came as traders or hunters. The North West Company was of French-Canadian extraction and traders arrived out west in Saskatchewan from Eastern Canada via inland routes. The British (in 1670) had given Rupert's Land to the Hudson Bay Company which gave the company dominion over lands where there was water passageway from the Hudson Bay. These traders arrived to the Saskatchewan area via Hudson Bay and then traveling westward. In 1774 the first inland trading post (Cumberland House) was built in Saskatchewan. Many documents refer to areas of Saskatchewan by the geophysical features by the name of the river, lake or group of hills. The first area to be settled by trading posts was located north of the tree line in the geo-physical shield area. At this time northern Saskatchewan was settled as southern Saskatchewan had experienced drought like conditions duringearly explorer expeditions, and was considered a part of the US desert.

Canada became a nation in 1867. Saskatchewan didn't become a province of Canada until 1905, before this it was a part of the NorthWest Territories. The North West Territories was divided into provisional territories on May 8, 1882. The south provisional district was named Assiniboia (The 33rd township southward to the U.A Canada border).The provisional district in central present-day Saskatchewan (between township 35 and township 70) was named Saskatchewan. And Athabaska was the provisional district of the North West Territories for the northern portion of present day Saskatchewan (Township 71 and northward to the District of MacKenzie NWT at the present border between Saskatchewan and the NWT). These provisional districts did not use the current eastern and western boundaries, but extended to range 10 west of the 4th meridian now known as Alberta and the district of Saskatchewan had an eastern border at Lake Winnipeg.

Atlas of Saskatchewan Maps showing boundary evolution. This map will be coming back online when Ancestry.com/Rootsweb complete their maintenance

In the late 1800's and early 1900's the railway and the Dominion Government of Canada wanted more settlers out west to unite Upper and Lower Canada -the eastern provinces of Canada with British Columbia. The rail lines didn't want to lay track over land with no settlement as it wasn't economically feasible. The demand for furs declined, the buffalo population declined, Saskatchewan started noticing the agricultural land capabilities in the middle and southern portions of the province, the early drought that Captain John Palliser had seen was over. The population in Saskatchewan evolved from a trapping community a farming community. Settlement, towns and rail lines developed the plains, or prairies, south of the tree line.

Early towns were established and had a post office. If a town cannot be located because it closed down as population migrated to the larger centers, it can be located by its post office. Locating a town no longer in existence will help trace where to locate the records for the family- which newspapers to look in, cemeteries, church records to search, etc. Quite a few changes in town names and locations are shown on the 60 years Sask Wheat Pool - 1924 Map and 1984 Map . Another online method of determining town location is by using National Archives Archivia Net and use the post office locator database. The Canadian Geographical Names web page by Department of Natural Resources Canada is also an excellent way to locate towns in Saskatchewan.

Land Improvement Districts were pre-cursors to the present Rural Municipalities. It was a community effort to network for schools, and essential services such as fire departments etc in their area. Rural Municipalities of Saskatchewan

Rural Municipalities

The functions of Saskatchewan municipalities include responsibilities for land use planning and development services (cemeteries) amongst other civic infrastructure and public service functions. Cemeteries in Saskatchewan are also classified by municipality -city or town or Rural Municipality (RM) on the many and several various cemetery transcription projects

Statistics Canada Community Profiles
Community profiles searchable by name of community. (NOT released into the public domain to search by ancestor name). --->>>Finding aid. Provides the rural municipality name if the placename is classified as an unincorporated area, and is too small to enumerate by itself. Census division number and Rural Municipality correlation chart With the rural municipality name, the cemetery is easier to find. <<<--- Provides the size of the community and general statistics about the place.

Community Profiles from the 2006 Census, Statistics Canada

Community Profiles - Census of Canada 2001 - Statistics Canada

Welcome to Community Profiles - Census of Canada 1996 - Statistics Canada

Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 1996 Saskatchewan Statistics Canada

Standard Geographical Classification (SGC)
Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) are searchable by name, or by geographic census division and then Subdivision, Census Enumeration Area . Census division number and Rural Municipality correlation chart (NOT released into the public domain to search by ancestor name). --->>>Finding aid. Provides the names of all communities within a rural municipality (Subdivision). Census division number and Rural Municipality correlation chart <<<---

Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 1996 Saskatchewan and its Divisions and Subdivisions Statistics Canada ...Search Page

Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2001 Saskatchewan and its Divisions and Subdivisions Statistics Canada ... Search Page

Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2006 Saskatchewan and its Divisions and Subdivisions Statistics Canada ... Search Page

Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2011 Saskatchewan and its Divisions and Subdivisions Statistics Canada ... Search Page

RM links
Government of Saskatchewan Municipal Directory System
MAPS
Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalites SARM MAP (pdf)
List of Rural Muncipalities in Saskatchewan wikipedia
Municipal system in Saskatchewan - Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan
Rural Municipalities Administrator's Association RMAA Saskatchewan Links
Rural Municipality Listing Saskatchewan Genealogical Society

Maps

1905 Scandinavian Canadian Land Co.Historic map Townships 32,33,34,35 and Ranges 1,2,3,4,5,6.West of the 2nd Meridian.

1904. and 1907 Survey of the Dominion of Canada, Entered according to Act of Parliament of Canada

1917 Scarborough's New Map of Saskatchewan
showing Judicial Districts, Land Registration Districts, Municipalities, Townships and Sections,
Cities (with populations), Villages (populations), Post Offices and Stations, Railway lines with Distances between Stations.

1919 Waghorn's Guide: Post Offices in Man, Sask, Alta, & West Ontario

1925 Waghorn's Guide: Map of Western Canada: Post Offices and RR in Man, Sask, Alta, & West Ontario

1941 Waghorn's Guide: Map and Post Offices in Man, Sask, Alta, & West Ontario

1948 Waghorn's Guide: Map of Western Canada: Post Offices and RR in Man, Sask, Alta, & West Ontario

1922 World Atlas and Gazetteer
Gazetteer of American and Canadian Railroads

1924 Rand McNally Saskatchewan Map

1926 Souvenir Saskatchewan Highway Map

1924 1984 60 years Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Maps

(showing Township, Range, Meridian)

1947-48 1950-51 1952-53 Saskatchewan Country Pool Elevator System Maps (showing Township, Range, Meridian)

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba Department of Mines Geological Survey 1914

Alberta map converters

Alberta Legal Land Description converter to longitude and latitude (GPS). "also works for any land in Western Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan & Manitoba) subdivided by the Dominion Land Survey system."

Archivia Net Electoral Maps

Archivia Net Indian Reserves - Western Canada

Archivia Net Maps, Plans and Charts

Atlas of Saskatchewan 1969 and 1999 edition Maps

Ausland Lake Maps and Information
(--Northern Saskatchewan)

BaseLoc DLS — Map, convert and share latitude and longitude, and street addresses -- New version - free 30 DLS to Lat/Long Converstions per day

Canadian Geographical Names Home Page (CGN)

--Querying Canadian Geographical NamesThe historical names in the Canadian Geographical Names Data Base(CGNDB) - the Internet version - are historical only in that they wereonce officially approved. So names like Pile o' Bones the historical name for the capital city of Regina (in any of itsvarious spellings) will not be found there.
Contact the Geographical Names Section to ask about real historicalnames. The working copy of the CGNDB has more information in it than the Internet version and staff can quickly search for anyinformation.
By Mail -
Geographical Names Section,
Natural Resources Canada,
634 - 615 Booth Street,
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0E9
Phone - 613 992-3892
Fax - 613 943-8282
E-mail - geonames@nrcan.gc.ca