Tompkins, Saskatchewan


Tompkins is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Gull Lake No. 139 and Census Division No. 8. The village is on the Trans-Canada Highway between the Town of Maple Creek and the City of Swift Current. The village was named for Thomas Tompkins, a CPR railroad contractor.

History

Tompkins incorporated as a village on June 2, 1910.

Demographics

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

Economy

Tompkins has several small businesses which thrive on the local shopping and dedication which has always been an asset to the citizens of Tompkins.

Popular culture

Tompkins' most famous celebrity was Gus Wickstrom who was known worldwide, and was featured on such programmes as the Daily Show, numerous Canada-wide TV shows, and various other USA TV and radio shows. He predicted the weather by looking at raw pig spleens for their colour, width, length and fatty deposits. From this, he predicted temperature, extreme heat/cold periods, snow/rainfall and drought up to eight months in advance. This is a famous practice dating back to his Scandinavian heritage. Gus died in 2007.
The popular Canadian sit-com Corner Gas pays tribute to both Gus Wickstrom and Tompkins in having the publisher/editor/writer of the local newspaper The Howler named Gus Tompkins. The character, though often talked about, is never seen.