From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ceylon, Saskatchewan
Ceylon, Saskatchewan
Demographics
History
Taken from Radville & Deep South Star[2]
Ceylon and Hardy really started when the railroad ar-
rived. The Canadian National Railway line came through
in 1910, opening for service in July, 1911. The section be-
tween Ceylon and Hardy was completed on November
21, 1911. Ceylon had actually started up in 1910 north of
where the tracks were eventually laid. When the town
site was surveyed in 1911, it had to be moved to the south
side of the tracks. With a great effort of manpower and
horsepower (of the animal variety), the fledgling town
was moved to its present location. The origin of the name
Ceylon is still a bit of a mystery. It was given its name by
the first postmaster in the area, John Aldred, who did not
want the new town to be named after him. He have cho-
sen the name Ceylon in recognition of a CPR station of
the name back in Ontario, or it may have been named for
a yacht that was owned by Scottish merchant Sir Thomas
Lipton (whose name still graces tea bags to this day).
Hardy was named for the great 19th century English nov-
elist and poet Thomas Hardy.
Some decades were better than the others. After the
first years of back breaking work cultivating the land, the
first crops were harvested and prosperity came to the re-
gion.
The area suffered a setback from 1914-1918 when
many young men left to fight in the Great War. A dispro-
portionately high number of young men from the Ceylon
area never returned home.
Their names are remembered in perpetuity on the
war memorial at the bottom of Main Street.
The twenties were particularly prosperous, only to be
followed by the Dirty Thirties and the dust, poverty and
hunger that came with it. Many families left during that
time, some sought work elsewhere and returned once
things had improved, and others stuck it out. The 1940s
were dominated by the war in Europe. Many young men
Ceylon left to fight overseas. When they returned, things had
Location of Ceylon in Saskatchewan changed a great deal. Farm work had become mostly
mechanized, rendering horses and oxen obsolete. The
Ceylon is a village in The Gap Rural Municipality No. threshing machines and their work gangs became a
39, Saskatchewan, Canada. The village had a population memory as combines took over the harvesting. Since
of 90 inhabitants at the 2006 Census. A few kilometres to many trains were diverted to the war effort, civilians had
the east of Ceylon, there are sand dunes. to use alternative forms of transportation. They became
used to travelling in their own private vehicles, and roads
were eventually improved accordingly. The trains were
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ceylon, Saskatchewan
used less and less until the Ceylon train station was torn educational institutions; they were also centres of social
down in 1976, and all five grain elevators are now a dis- activity. Dances, meetings and church services were held
tant memory. The last elevator to go, the Saskatchewan in the local schools. It was much more convenient to
Wheat Pool, was torn down in 2000, ending the need for travel the relatively short distance (though it was proba-
rail service in Ceylon. Hardy also had a train station and bly always several miles, uphill, in a blizzard) to the local
elevators; it lost its train station in 1959, and the last ele- schoolhouse rather than travel all the way to Ceylon or
vator was torn down in 1989. Hardy, especially in the winter. Most of the schools were
Today, Ceylon is a peaceful village, but its history is closed down in the 1950s, and the children were bused
full of exciting stories. One of the most famous is the to the nearest town. The schools may be long gone, but
still unsolved bank robbery of 1922. In the wee hours of many farms still bear the name of these school districts.
September 27, 1922, the Bank of Montreal was robbed. Religion was also very important to many early set-
That same night, a bank was robbed in Moosomin. The tlers. Before churches were built, traveling priests and
robbery attracted a great deal of attention, and was the ministers held services in people’s homes. St. Joseph’s
front page story of the Regina Leader for three days in was built between 1913 and 1917, being dedicated in that
a row. The story was even mentioned in two novels, year by the Archbishop of Regina. It burned down in 1951
though it was represented very inaccurately in both. A and a new church was built to replace it. The United
very good (and exciting) account of the bank robbery Church was built in 1918. There was also a church estab-
by A. O. Smith is included in Ceylon’s first history book, lished at the eastern edge of the Gap, called St. Collette’s.
Builders of a Great Land. During the Prohibition of the A congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses was established in
1920s, there was also allegedly some rum running that the 1940s.
went on in the area. There are five cemeteries located within the Gap: St.
A great many things have changed throughout the Collette (NE 12-5-19), Lacadia St. Collettee (NE 35-4-19),
past century, but some things have come almost full cir- Trail (NW 33-6-20) and St. Paul’s (NW 7-5-19), as well as
cle. The earliest farmers in the R.M. of the Gap had to Ceylon Cemetery just south of town.
haul their grain to Weyburn. Eventually elevators were Water shortages were a problem early on for the vil-
built in Ceylon and Hardy, but these did not last and now, lage of Ceylon, and as early as 1919 plans were made to
a full century later, the closest grain gathering point is develop a dam. It was completed east of town in 1934 un-
once again Weyburn. But while the earliest settlers faced der supervision of the R.M. The work to build it provid-
a grueling two or three day journey with a horse-pulled ed employment for many men during the early years of
wagon, farmers now haul their grain in semis. In those the Depression. The dam ended up being picturesque as
first few years, there were few families in the area, and well as practical, and in the 1950s the Ceylon Beach was
farms were far away from each other. A steady stream started by the Homemakers Club. In 1967, a Centennial
of settlers meant that within a decade or so, there were Grant allowed the development of a regional park, com-
farms everywhere, and the isolation of the earliest days plete with swimming pool, picnic area, campground, ball
ended. Over the years, as farming changed and cities be- diamond and a small golf course.
came more attractive to young people, the countryside Throughout the years, there were a variety of clubs
has thinned out again. Small clumps of trees, former ac- and sports teams in Ceylon. Women were very activity in
cess roads that are being reclaimed by the land, and tum- the community, and they did many of their good works
bledown shacks are all that remain of these former farms through organizations like the Catholic Women’s League,
and homes. Reliable roads, vehicles, telephones and the the United Church Women, the Ceylon Ladies Aid, Easter
Internet mean that farm families are not exactly isolated, Lily Rebekah Lodge, the Ladies Auxiliary of the Ceylon
but they certainly have fewer neighbours than they Legion Branch No. 46, and the Ceylon Women’s Institute
would have in decades past. (also known as the Ceylon Homemakers), among several
Hardy School, and the country schools of the R.M. others. There were many clubs for men as well, including
of the Gap, were centers of social activity in the first the Ceylon Lions Club, Connaught Odd Fellows Lodge,
decades of the R.M. of the Gap. Ceylon Masonic Lodge, Royal Canadian Legion Branch
Ceylon and Hardy were the centres of business in the No. 46 and the Knights of Columbus. The Gap Agricultural
municipality, but in the earliest decades of its history, Society was very active in the earlier decades of the area,
most farm families’ centre of identity would be their local holding fairs each year. There were a variety of sports
school district. In the Gap, there were twenty school dis- in the Ceylon area as well, including: football, baseball/
tricts, ten of which encompassed area in other munici- softball, tennis, basketball, curling, figure skating, and of
palities as well. These school districts were: Trail, Egypt course, hockey. Hardy also had its share of community
Valley, Lyons, Gibson Creek, Buffalo Valley, East Ceylon, clubs and sports teams.
Troy, Lacadia, Freda, Round Up, Naomi, Green Lake, Ceylon grew very quickly, and by 1926 had made a
Meadow View, Carnbrogie, Big Four, Good Time, Gordon, name for itself in southern Saskatchewan. The Regina
Oakville, Hardy, and Ceylon. Schools were more than just Leader published an article on June 26, 1926 which put
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ceylon, Saskatchewan
Ceylon “In the Front Rank of the ‘Best’ Saskatchewan Vil- ry books of the area, Builders of a Great Land and Builders of
lages.” Continues.
a Great Land Continues
In the earliest decades there were many businesses,
including: general stores, hardware stores, cafes, livery
barns, a newspaper, several banks, blacksmiths, butch-
Climate
ers, laundries, drug store, dress shops, boarding houses,
and later, garages and implement dealers. The original See also
hotel built in 1911 burnt down that same year, but the
• List of communities in Saskatchewan
North West Hotel was soon erected on the same site, and
• Villages of Saskatchewan
it is still in use today. Today Ceylon has lost most of its
business to larger centres, however, businesses like Cey-
lon Pulses Plus and Border Line Feeders have rejuvenated References
the local economy in recent years. The oil and gas indus-
[1] "2006 Community Profiles". Statistics Canada.
try has also had positive effects on the economy. And of
Government of Canada. 2009-02-24.
course, there are still farmers and ranchers, making a liv-
http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/
ing the same way the original homesteaders in this area
2006/dp-pd/prof/92-591/index.cfm?Lang=E.
did, albeit with much more advanced technology.
Retrieved 2011-08-01.
Ceylon and Hardy may have shrunk to a fraction of
[2] Radville & Deep South Star
their former populations, but many families remain.
[3] Environment Canada Canadian Climate Normals
Some of them have been here for more than a century,
1971–2000, accessed 23 July 2010
out dating even the municipality itself. Others are new-
comers. Though the population of Ceylon and Hardy is
smaller than it used to be (it has grown in recent years), External links
the fact remains that for those who do live here in the Coordinates: 49°27′24″N 104°36′22″W / 49.45667°N
“Gap”, it is unquestioningly home. 104.60611°W / 49.45667; -104.60611
More detailed history of Ceylon, Hardy and the R.M.
of the Gap No. 39 can be found in the two excellent histo-
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ceylon,_Saskatchewan&oldid=467916707"
Categories:
• The Gap No. 39, Saskatchewan
• Villages in Saskatchewan
• Saskatchewan geography stubs
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