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History > Immigration > To Canada > Arcola, Saskatchewan

Arcola, Saskatchewan

Arcola, Saskatchewn celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2003, marking the fact that it predates the province of Saskatchewan by two years. Arcola is known as Saskatchewan's "Heritage Town" due to its many historical brick and wood frame structures. Settlers in the area originally built a community known as Clare, located two miles northeast of where Arcola exists today, but almost all the buildings of Clare were moved when the Canadian Pacific Railroad announced in the early part of 1900 that the railroad would run south of town. Arcola was the "end point" of the southern branch line that ran west from Souris, Manitoba for four years, during which time it became an important hub for westward migration. At one point it was the 11th largest town in what is now the province of Saskatchewan, but was then known as Assiniboia. With flourishing settlement and economic growth, many thought Arcola would achieve city status. It was during this heyday and using bricks made in the town's own brick plant that many of today's heritage homes and buildings were erected.
Arcola served as the location for the Allan King film feature of W.O. Mitchell's Who Has Seen the Wind. Canadian author James Sinclair Ross wrote his seminal 1941 novel As for Me and My House in Arcola.

According to a 1937 article published in the Arcola newspaper, the first Lutheran Church in the district was built in 1905 about 15 miles southwest of Arcola. There were some ten Lutheran families living in that district, among them was Adam and Katherine Fox (Fuchs) who homesteaded there in 1902.

Debbie Nichol states that the Fox couple emigrated from Neu-Norka, Russia in February 1900 with their small daughter, Maria Elizabeth, arriving in Ontario, Canada in the summer of 1900. They first traveled by train to Oxbow, Saskatchewan where they initially settled. In 1902, the family moved to Arcola to establish homesteads with other German families. Their original surname of Fuchs was changed to its English equivalent (Fox) by an Englishman who worked in the registrar's office in Arcola. Adam and Katherine had eight children.

Sources

Arcola Newspaper - 1937

"Arcola, Saskatchewan." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Web. 09 Aug. 2016. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arcola,_Saskatchewan>.

Debbie Nichol
Last updated August 9, 2016.
Copyright © 2002-2025 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
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    • Contact
  • People
    • Founders
    • Personal Histories
    • Notable Norkans
    • Stories
    • Photo Identification
    • Photo Gallery
  • Community
    • Village Life
    • Entertainment
    • Agriculture
    • Climate
    • Homesites
    • Geographical Description
    • Government
    • Social Structure
    • Health
    • Education
    • A Land of Ethnic Diversity
    • Cottage Industries >
      • Sarpinka
      • Mills
    • Language
    • Population
    • Military Service
    • Crime and Punishment
  • History
    • Timeline
    • Origins of the Colonists
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Why go to Russia?
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Marriages Prior To Emigration 1766
    • Voyage to Russia 1766 >
      • Ship Transport 1766
    • Journey 1766-1767
    • Founding of Norka 1767
    • Early Years 1767-1769
    • Norka 1769
    • Pallas Report 1773
    • Pugachev Raid 1774
    • Norka 1775
    • Norka 1798
    • Norka 1811
    • Napoleons Soldiers
    • Norka 1834
    • Daughter Colonies 1850s >
      • Neu-Norka
      • Oberdorf
      • Brunnental
      • Rosenfeld (am Jeruslan)
      • Neu Hussenbach (Gaschon)
    • Privileges Lost 1871-1874
    • Immigration 1875-1924 >
      • To the United States >
        • Colorado
        • Ft Collins Colorado
        • Globeville Colorado
        • Mason City, Iowa
        • Culbertson, Nebraska
        • Lincoln, Nebraska
        • Sutton, Nebraska
        • Burlington, Oklahoma
        • Weatherford, Oklahoma
        • Canby, Oregon
        • Portland, Oregon
      • To Canada >
        • Duffield, Alberta
        • Ponoka, Alberta
        • Spruce Grove, Alberta
        • Stony Plain, Alberta
        • Vegreville, Alberta
        • Arcola, Saskatchewan
      • To Germany
      • To South America
    • Famine 1891-1892
    • Norka 1898
    • War & Turnoil 1904-1906
    • World War 1914-1918
    • Revolution & War 1917-1922
    • Soviet Rule 1918-1941
    • Famine 1921-1924
    • Famine 1932-1933
    • The Great Terror 1936-1938
    • Deportation 1941
    • Repression 1941-1956
    • Cultural Loss 1957-2006
    • A Culture in Peril
    • Recent Times
  • Traditions
    • Food and Drink
    • Clothing
    • Holidays >
      • New Year
      • Fastnacht
      • Lent
      • Easter
      • Ascension Day
      • Pentecost
      • Founder's Day
      • Harvest Festival
      • Jahrmarkt
      • Christmas
      • Anniversaries & Birthdays
    • Crafts
    • Games
    • Folk Medicine
    • Superstitions
    • Nicknames
    • Folk Music
    • Church Music
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johann Baptist Cattaneo
      • Lukas Cattaneo
      • Emanuel Grunauer
      • Friedrich Börner
      • Christian Gottlieb Hegele
      • Christoph H Bonwetsch
      • Gottlieb N Bonwetsch
      • Wilhelm Staerkel
      • Woldemar Sibbul
      • David Weigum
      • Friedrich Alexander Wacker
      • Emil Pfeiffer
    • Church Practices >
      • Baptism
      • Confirmation
      • Weddings
      • Communion
      • Prayers
      • Parochial Certificates
    • Church Buildings
    • Church Organs
    • Bell Tower
    • Brethren Movement
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Research Resources >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Glossary
    • Bibliography
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
      • Sonntagsblatt der Omaha Tribune
    • Related Links