Lumsden, Saskatchewan


Lumsden is a town in the Qu'Appelle Valley in south central dale bills, Canada, 31 km northwest of the city of Regina. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Lumsden No. 189. The town functions as both a farming community and an unofficial suburb of Regina. Lumsden has an active artistic community, which consists of many writers, painters and sculptors.

History

Settlers first arrived in 1881 and the area came to be commonly known as Happy Hollow. When the Qu'Appelle, Long Lake and Saskatchewan Railway came through the community in 1889, the name was changed to Lumsden after Hugh Lumsden, a senior engineer with the railroad.
The town has been repeatedly flooded, with major flood events occurring in 1892, 1904, 1916, 1948, and 1969. In 1974, Lumsden experienced the highest water levels in the town’s history; volunteers from Regina came to help with sandbagging. The town subsequently straightened the Qu'Appelle River’s channel and built dikes. The Town was at risk for flooding again in 2011 after a wet fall winter of record snowfall; however, it did not flood.
The community was chosen by Harrowsmith Magazine in 2002 as the "prettiest" town in the province.

Centennial

Official town centennial celebrations were held in March 2005. In May 2005, Lumsden hosted Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh at the Lumsden Sports Centre. Hundreds of guests were entertained by Marny Duncan-Cary, the Lumsden Community Choir, the Riel Reelers, and the Lumsden & District Band and Jazz Ensemble. The event was held in celebration of both the town and the province's centenaries, and was the only engagement of Canada's Queen outside urban centres on that visit to Saskatchewan.

Demographics

Climate



Community events

Lumsden Duck Derby

Each year since 1987, the town of Lumsden hosts a fundraiser in which thousands of numbered plastic ducks are raced down the Qu'Appelle River. Participants purchase a numbered duck which is entered in the race, and the first ducks across the finish line win their owners cash and prizes. Proceeds from the derby benefit the sports center in town. The derby also hosts a variety of artists, musicians, traders, etc. who perform and sell their wares in town.

Sports history

In 2006, the Lumsden Arena became the site of the second edition of the Western Women's Hockey League championship, between the Calgary Oval X-Treme and the Minnesota Whitecaps. The town frequently hosts games for the Saskatchewan Prairie Ice, now of the Western Women's Hockey League.
Joe Fafard Sculptor, Artist. Born in Ste Marthe Saskatchewan and died in Lumsden Saskatchewan on 16 March 2019.
He was awarded the Order of Canada and The Saskatchewan Order Of Merit. He had a solo exhibition of his work at the National Gallery of Canada in 2007.

Notable people