Gainsborough, Saskatchewan


Gainsborough is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Argyle No. 1 and Census Division No. 1. A farming community, the village is located on Highway 18 in the southeastern corner of Saskatchewan. Gainsborough is approximately from the Manitoba border, and from the North Dakota, United States border.

Name

The first post-office was established on April 1, 1884 as the community of Antler; on September 1, 1885 the name of the community changed to Gainsborough.
The village is named after Gainsborough, Lincolnshire in England, former home of J. J. Sadler, early settler.
There is also a Gainsborough in the English county of Lincolnshire. There is also a Gainsborough in New South Wales in Australia.

Location

8 miles east is the community of Pierson, Manitoba. To the west 8 miles is the village of Carievale. 16 miles straight north of Gainsborough is the hamlet of Fertile. The closest communities to the south are Antler and Sherwood, North Dakota. Nearby towns to the north and west are Storthoaks, Carnduff, Glen Ewen, Oxbow and Bellegarde, while to the east are Lyleton, Tilston and Melita, Manitoba. The nearest population centers with more than 10,000 people are approximately an hour's drive away: Estevan, which is westward on Highway 18, and Minot, North Dakota is a 75-minute drive almost directly south. Brandon is a 2-hour drive away, while Regina, Saskatchewan and Winnipeg each approximately 3.0-3.5 hours away by car.
Antler is the closest border crossing station between Canada and the US, and like most small posts on the frontier it is closed overnight. Gainsborough is approximately equidistant to two 24-hour border crossings: North Portal, Saskatchewan 90 km to the west, and Boissevain, Manitoba 120 km to the east.

History

Gainsborough incorporated as a village on May 25, 1894. It is the oldest incorporated village in the province of Saskatchewan.
The Gainsborough Creek forms most of the southern boundary of the town, while the rest of the community is bordered by open fields and pasture. A tributary of the Souris River, the creek is prone to flooding during the spring thaw. Though several nearby communities made national headlines as disaster areas during severe flooding in 2011, most buildings in Gainsborough did not require unusual extraordinary protection measures or sandbagging. In 2014, extended heavy rainfall in the region resulted in severe flash flooding that forced the complete evacuation of residents to neighbouring communities and made national headlines. Provincial premier Brad Wall did an aerial survey of the flood area that allowed images and video of the flooded village to be recorded near the maximum height of the waters.
Saskatchewan is in the CST Zone, and since 1967 it has not observed daylight saving time meaning that local clocks do not get changed in summer. A practical effect on border towns like Gainsborough is that they only align with neighbouring communities in Manitoba and North Dakota for half the year, which may lead to misunderstandings regarding the timing of scheduled inter-community events.
Primary income of community members is derived from agricultural businesses and petroleum drilling services.

Demographics

In the 2016 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the Village of Gainsborough recorded a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2016.
In the 2011 Census of Population, the Village of Gainsborough recorded a population of, a change from its 2006 population of. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2011.

Notable people

Businesses

Rural Municipality of Argyle No. 1

Gainsborough Swimming pool - open July and August

Movie Theater - open during the spring and fall

Riverside Hotel - beverage room, steak pit and coffee shop

Gainsborough Coop - hardware, fuel, lumber

Gainsborough and Area Health Centre - primarily for long-term care.

Credit Union - branch office of the Prairie Pride Credit Union

- branch of the Southeast Regional Library

Gainsborough Fine Foods

Gainsborough Frozen Foods

A + H Farm Supplies and Insurance - SGI agent and Bus Depot

CA Shaw Insurance Broker

Gainsborough Community Rink - curling, skating, beverage room

Gainsborough Volunteer Fire Department

Happy Hours Club - Local Senior's establishment

Evergreen Lodge - Seniors apartments

Canada Post

Rebel Oilfield Maintenance

Cowan Oilfield Services

Several independent business provide construction and oilfield contracting
Businesses

Grain elevators: Operating: zero. Privately owned: one .

Gainsborough Elementary School - closed in 2006. The property is now privately owned, and the building partially demolished.

Gainsborough Railway Station - now a privately owned home

Frankie's Soda Shop

Willis' Pool Hall - building was on current location of Bennet Park

Gainsborough Variety Store

Paterson Grain Elevator

Places of interest

Bennet Park - located on Railway Avenue, formerly the location of a pool hall, hardware store, and mechanic

Bowens Park - central to the southern half of the town along Antler Avenue

Memorial Cenotaph - Located adjacent to the theater on Bruce Street

Churches - two. The Anglican Christ Church is registered on the List of historic places in Saskatchewan

Community hall - basement with kitchen, main hall has a stage and upper meeting room

Sports field - Kitchen facilities, three baseball diamonds, racetrack located north of the curling rink.

Campground facilities are located north of the Health Center adjacent to the sports fields.
There is a privately owned museum with articles from the town's history that is opened by request.

Amenities, Associations and Clubs