Turtleford

{{Infobox settlement

| official_name = Turtleford

| nickname =

| settlement_type = Town

| motto =

| image_skyline = View from Turtleford Lookout - panoramio.jpg

| image_caption =

| image_flag =

| image_seal =

| image_map =

| mapsize =

| map_caption =

| pushpin_map = Saskatchewan#Canada

| pushpin_label_position =

| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Turtleford in Saskatchewan

| pushpin_mapsize =

| image_map1 =

| mapsize1 =

| map_caption1 =

| subdivision_type = Country

| subdivision_type1 = Province

| subdivision_type2 = Rural Municipalities (R.M.)

| subdivision_name = Canada

| subdivision_name1 = Saskatchewan

| subdivision_name2 = Mervin No. 499

| leader_title = Mayor

| leader_name = Olson, Roland (2012)

| leader_title1 = M.L.A. of Cut Knife-Turtleford

| leader_name1 = Larry Doke

| leader_title2 = MP of Battlefords—Lloydminster

| leader_name2 = Rosemarie Falk

| established_title = Post office Founded

| established_date = 1913-12-01

| established_title2 = Village

| established_date2 =

| established_title3 = Town

| established_date3 = July 1, 1983

| area_total_km2 = 1.69

| area_water_km2 =

| population_as_of = 2011

| population_note =

| population_total = 525

| population_density_km2 = 311.6

| timezone = Central Standard Time

| utc_offset = −6

| timezone_DST =

| utc_offset_DST = −5

| coordinates = {{coord|53|23|N|108|57|W|region:CA-SK|display=inline}}

| elevation_m =

| postal_code_type = Postal code

| postal_code = S0M 2Y0

| area_code =

| blank_name = Highways

| blank_info = {{jct|state=SK|Hwy|26|Hwy|3|Hwy|301}}

| website = [https://townofturtleford.com/ Official Website]

| footnotes = {{Citation

|last=National Archives

|first=Archivia Net

|title=Post Offices and Postmasters |url=http://www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/post-offices/001001-100.01-e.php

|access-date=2007-05-26

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061006045957/http://www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/post-offices/001001-100.01-e.php

|archive-date=2006-10-06

}}{{Cite web

|last=Government of Saskatchewan

|first=MRD Home

|title=Municipal Directory System |url=http://www.mds.gov.sk.ca/apps/Pub/MDS/welcome.aspx

|access-date=2009-09-06

|url-status=dead

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160115125115/http://www.mds.gov.sk.ca/apps/Pub/MDS/welcome.aspx

|archive-date=2016-01-15

}}{{Citation

|last = Canadian Textiles Institute

|title = CTI Determine your provincial constituency

|year = 2005

|url = http://www.textiles.ca/eng/nonAuthProg/redirect.cfm?path=IssPolContacts§ionID=7601.cfm

|access-date = 2007-05-26

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070911025012/http://www.textiles.ca/eng/nonAuthProg/redirect.cfm?path=IssPolContacts§ionID=7601.cfm

|archive-date = 2007-09-11

}}{{Citation

|last = Commissioner of Canada Elections

|first = Chief Electoral Officer of Canada

|title = Elections Canada On-line

|year = 2005

|url = http://www.elections.ca/home.asp

|access-date = 2007-04-24

|url-status = dead

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070421084430/http://www.elections.ca/home.asp

|archive-date = 2007-04-21

}}

| name =

}}

Turtleford is a town in the Rural Municipality of Mervin No. 499, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Turtleford is located on Highway 26 near the intersection / concurrency with Highway 3 and Highway 303. The nearest cities are North Battleford and Lloydminster. The Turtlelake River runs through Turtleford, and nearby are Brightsand Lake and Turtle Lake.

Turtleford has the Canada's largest turtle statue (more than eight feet tall), named Ernie.{{Citation

| last =LARGE CANADIAN ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

| first =Ed Solonyka

| title =Ernie - Canada's Largest Turtle Turtleford, Saskatchewan

| date = 1998–2006

| url =http://www.roadsideattractions.ca/turtle.htm

}} "Ernie the Turtle" is on Highway 26 near the south edge of town.

A small vulnerable songbird called Sprague's pipit has a breeding range in the northern Great Plains of North America, and amongst their breeding spots is Turtleford, Saskatchewan.Sprague's Pipit

History

First settled in 1907 and 1908 the town was named for its proximity to the early river crossing (or ford) on the Turtlelake River.

{{Citation| last =CANADIAN PLAINS RESEARCH CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF REGINA

| title =The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan (Turtleford)| date =2006| url =http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/turtleford.html| access-date =2007-05-27| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130527054156/http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/turtleford.html| archive-date =2013-05-27| url-status =dead}} A post office opened in 1913 and by 1914 the ongoing extension of a Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) branch from North Battleford had reached Turtleford.{{Citation | last = Russell | first = Edmund T. | title = What's In a Name: The Story Behind Saskatchewan Place Names (3rd edition) | publisher = Western Producer Prairie Books | year = 1973 | location = Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | pages = 200 | isbn = 0-88833-053-7 }}{{Cite web |url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canmaps/1925Waghorn/BC-SK/ |title=Map of Western Canada showing part of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta |publisher=Stovel Co. Ltd. |author=Waghorn's Guide |date=1914 |access-date=2015-06-24}} By 1915 dozens of businesses had opened and Turtleford became a major centre for the area population.

The North Battleford — Turtleford Branch of the CNoR (later merged into Canadian National Railway), which primarily serviced the grain elevators used by the farmers northwest of North Battleford, ceased operation by 2005, when the remaining elevators closed.{{cite web |url=http://www.sasktrails.ca/maps/SaskRailNetworkSept2008.pdf |title=Abandoned Rail Lines in Saskatchewan |publisher=Saskatchewan Trails Association |author=Troy A. M. Zimmer |date=2008-09-14 |access-date=2015-06-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140124032849/http://www.sasktrails.ca/maps/SaskRailNetworkSept2008.pdf |archive-date=2014-01-24 }} The branch had served Hamlin, Prince, Meota (1910 extension), Cavalier, Vawn, Edam, Mervin and Turtleford, and had been extended farther northwest to Cleeves, Spruce Lake, St. Walburg (1919 extension), with a fork to Paradise Hill and Frenchman Butte. The rail line and Saskatchewan Highway 26 ran beside each other from Prince to St. Walburg.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Turtleford had a population of {{val|503|fmt=commas}} living in {{val|213|fmt=commas}} of its {{val|228|fmt=commas}} total private dwellings, a change of {{percentage|{{#expr:503-496}}|496|1}} from its 2016 population of {{val|496|fmt=commas}}. With a land area of {{convert|1.66|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}, it had a population density of {{Pop density|503|1.66|km2|sqmi|prec=1}} in 2021.{{cite web | url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810000203&geocode=A000247 | title=Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Saskatchewan | publisher=Statistics Canada | date=February 9, 2022 | accessdate=April 1, 2022}}

{{canada_census

|2011_population=525

|2011_pop_delta=+13.9

|2011_land_area=1.69

|2011_pop_density=311.6

|2011_pop_rank=

|2011_median_age=40.9

|2011_median_age_m=36.5

|2011_median_age_f=43.0

|2011_total_pvt_dwell=227

|2011_total_pvt_dwell_usual=215

|2011_mean_hh_income=

|2011_access_date=2013-06-21

|2006_population=461

|2006_pop_delta=-0.9

|2006_land_area=1.64

|2006_pop_density=280.4

|2006_pop_rank=

|2006_median_age=39.8

|2006_median_age_m=36.3

|2006_median_age_f=42.1

|2006_total_pvt_dwell=215

|2006_total_pvt_dwell_usual=202

|2006_mean_hh_income=

|2006_access_date=2009-02-24

}}

Education

Turtleford (Turtleford Community School) belongs to Turtleford School Division #65 a part of Northwest School Division.{{Citation

|title=GrassRoots - Project Gallery Search Results

|url=http://rescol-schoolnet.ic.gc.ca/grassroots/e/project.centre/projectsearchresults.asp?ps_orgid=3859&ps_language=en&ps_language=fr&mode=print

|access-date=2007-05-27

}}{{dead link|date=January 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{Citation| title =Turtleford Community School| url =http://www.nwsd.ca/schools/tcs/| access-date =2007-05-27| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20070422015105/http://www.nwsd.ca/schools/tcs/| archive-date =2007-04-22}}{{Citation

| title =NWSD

| url =http://www.nwsd.ca/

| access-date = 2007-05-27 }}

Turtleford is served by Lakeland Library Region — Turtleford Branch{{Citation

| last =Libdex - the library index

| title =Lakeland Library Region - Turtleford Branch

| url =http://www.lakeland.lib.sk.ca/llr/tubranch.htm

| access-date = 2007-05-27

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040816095619/http://www.lakeland.lib.sk.ca/llr/tubranch.htm |archive-date = 2004-08-16}}