Wynyard & Area

Services
and 
Attractions

Once Upon A Time...

Once upon a time (around 1904), a few adventurers braved the extreme weather of the Canadian Prairies to establish a settlement by the Quill Lakes.

Others, impressed by their presence, followed and thus a community was formed.

The first settlers to the Wynyard area were Icelanders, drawn to the salt lakes that reminded them of home. The winters were freezing and harsh, the summers hot and dry. Some yearned for their homelands, and returned to them. Some moved on to milder climates. The tough and the stubborn stayed.

The Icelanders were soon joined by settlers of British, Ukrainian and Polish origins.

The Canadian Pacific Railway came to the settlement by the Quills in 1909, bringing more people, supplies, and opportunities to the area. The community was named "Wynyard", after the English family of a CPR official's wife. In 1908, Wynyard became a village, in 1911 a town. Businesses flourished and people kept arriving on the train. Some moved on, but others stayed and now, nearly a century later, Wynyard is a thriving town of almost 2000 that still retains the community spirit and adventurousness of its first pioneers.