Montmartre ( ) (2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Montmartre No. 126 and Census Division No. 6. It is east of the city of Regina on Highway 48.
It is in the provincial electoral district of Moosomin and the federal electoral district Wascana.
History Montmartre incorporated as a village on October 19, 1908.
The colony of Montmartre
In March 1893, wealthy French Catholic settlers by the names of Pierre Foursin (a private secretary to the Honourable Hector Fabre, the first Canadian High Commissioner to Paris), Armand Goupil (notary), Auguste and Albert-Léon Haymann (proprietors of a large jewellery store), Jean and André Chartier (university students) and Louis Gigot (brother-in-law of the Chartiers and an Engineer of Arts and Manufactors) decided to establish the colony of Montmartre. Together, they founded the Foncier Society of Canada "the Society," which was created to aid in colonization.Couckuyt, Marianne in Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 1 After getting off the train at Wolseley, they travelled by horse and buggy southwest to SE 16-15-11 W2, which was a hilly area that eventually became the Montmartre colony. They named their new settlement "Montmartre" after their home in Montmartre, France. In March 1893, after they established land, Foursin, Goupil, Haymann and the Chartiers set out for new settlements in the area while Gigot and Haymann remained in Paris to promote colonization.Couckuyt, Marianne in Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 2
The Foncier Society of Canada's promises Gigot and Haymann's promoting Montmartre was successful as they described it as a place with excellent farmland, woods, lakes, rivers, and abundant game. Because most colonists coming to Montmartre were office workers and bureaucrats with no farming experience, to help colonists integrate, the Society made promises that would help colonists become farmers with the help of a hired mentor, Onesime Tourigny. Throughout this process, the Society made more agreements which promised to: provide colonists with railroad/steamship fares, cover the cost of registering 160 acres of land (which would be chosen by the Society), a furnished log cabin, food, animals, farm equipment, insurance expenses, and mortgages until the colonists became self-sufficient.
First families The first family living in Montmartre was that of Auguste M.D. de Trémaudan (the only family who was brought by the Foncier Society) who brought his wife Jeanne Marie and children from France. The second family was that of Mr. Berneau, who brought his wife, 18-year-old son and baby boy (who later died after their arrival in Canada). On June 1, 1893, both families arrived in their new home of Montmartre where they temporarily lived in sod-covered tepee structures.Couckuyt, Marianne in Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 3 Eventually, as the Society promised, houses were built for colonists in the form of a village. In August 1893, as another fulfillment of the Society's promises, each colonist was assigned a quarter section of land. Later that year, on November 10, 1893, Jeanne Simonin was born, marking the first birth in Montmartre.Couckuyt, Marianne in Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 6
Hardships of colonists Their first year on Canadian soil, European settlers suffered many hardships. An early frost in August 1893 froze their first potato crop, and the well that men from Wolseley had been hired to dig was abandoned because there was no sign of water. Furthermore, on October 31, 1893, a prairie fire swept across Montmartre. Although no lives, buildings, or animals were lost, the fire took most of their belongings and the feed for their animals. Later that year, Louis Fombeur died from pneumonia during his quest for straw for his cattle, marking the first death in Montmartre. The struggles continued throughout that winter as settlers and their livestock were obligated to drink slough water or melted snow.
Early 20th-century settlers In 1898, people started emigrating from eastern Canada. Although the French settlers remained the majority in Montmartre, by 1905, English, Irish, Polish and German families joined the mix. A 1901 census read that there were 20 houses with 22 families, made up of 95 people. The origins of these people were: 1 English, 80 French, 10 Belgian, 1 Swiss and 3 Métis.Couckuyt, Marianne in Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 10
World War I Young men from Montmartre enlisted to serve with the Saskatchewan Regiment, 214th Battalion, in England and France during World War I.
1920 to World War II At the beginning of the Roaring Twenties, it had been just over ten years since incorporation, and the village continued to grow, change, and improve. By 1921, the population had grown to 287 in the village and 2,144 in the rural municipality (RM).Sixth Census of Canada, 1921. Volume I: Population, Number, Sex, Racial Origins, Religions. (Ottawa: F.A. Acland, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty, 1924) 169, 504 The growth and change the community experienced during this period was especially evident in the business community with many stores on Grand Avenue (known as Central Avenue today) and Railway Street (known as First Street today) opening, moving or expanding.Wrigley's Saskatchewan Directory: Year Book of Saskatchewan, Volume I. (Saskatchewan: Wrigley's Directories Limited, 1921-1922), 320. With the community expanding, a housing shortage was experienced.Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 60.
Access to the rest of the world began to improve in the 1920s as well. In 1922, Saskatchewan got its first radio station – CKCK Regina. In November, a radio was installed in the village hall to allow people to listen to concerts. Soon after, people started installing radios in their homes.Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 64.
Improvements to the village water supply were carried out in this period. They drilled a well, built a reservoir, and installed an engine and pump, and then people would transport their water home themselves.Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 67. In 1923, 1,200 lineal feet of cement walk were also built that took the place of the run-down boardwalks.The Morning Leader, June 26, 1923, pg. 9. Electrical lighting came to the village as well. Street lights, rink lights, businesses and homes were supplied with electrical light.
Articles from The Morning Leader newspaper in 1923 indicate that there were good rains and that there was "every sign of a bumper crop." 1928 was the best year for crops of the century up to that time."Report of the Deputy Minister of Agriculture Hon. W. C. Buckle", Twenty-Fourth Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture of the Province of Saskatchewan for the Twelve Months ended April 20, 1929. (Regina: J.W. Reid, King's Printer, 1929), 9. This prosperity allowed people to spend money on improving the community, and improving their farming operations with equipment. During the years of good crops of the '20s, land was being taken up at a brisk rate, and this caused the land to go up by $2 per acre.Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 67-69.
This prosperous era of improvement and change came to a halt with the Great Depression. The price of a bushel of wheat went from $1.15 in 1929 to 30 cents in 1933.Twenty-Third Agricultural Annual Report (Saskatchewan: Government of the Province of Saskatchewan, 1930), 46.Twenty-Fifth Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture for the Twelve Months ended April 30, 1933 (Regina: Roland S. Garrett, King's Printer, 1933), 110.
Along with the stock market crash, crops failed due to rust and drought. In 1930, over 1,000 acres of wheat in the district were not worth cutting due to rust. In most years, whatever crops did emerge were often damaged from wind. Fallow practices were implemented to mitigate the damage, but these factors combined to create severe dust storms.Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 78-80. In 1938, the crop yield was only two bushels per acre, and only rose to four bushels per acre the following year.Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 80-81
The Saskatchewan Relief Commission helped people survive these years of hardship. Province-wide, the Commission spent $31.5 million, and a committee was formed to manage relief efforts in each municipality. People survived through helping one another as well. Those in areas getting by would help those more in need. Neighbouring towns provided food and clothing to one another when in need, and aid came from Eastern Canada on the railway. There was one incident reported in the Leader Post on March 13, 1939, where two tons of relief hay were stolen."Two tons of relief hay hauled away", The Leader Post, March 13, 1939, Page 1. Although incidents like this did happen, this period helped the citizens realize the importance of community and cooperation in order to survive difficult times.
Out of the need for cooperation and community came the organization of cooperatives. The Montmartre Co-op began in 1938 with 40 members, and grew to 104 members by 1941. In the beginning it sold gasoline and kerosene, but by 1942 the Co-op purchased the local food store as well.Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 83-84
By 1941, conditions finally improved drastically. The wheat harvest increased to 21 bushels/acre from 5 bushels/acre in 1940. Throughout the rest of the 1940s, this stayed fairly steady."Crop Yield by Rural Municipality— Wheat, RM 126— 1941-1945", Agriculture: Government of Saskatchewan
World War II Many young men and a few young women enlisted to serve Canada in Europe. The first man to enlist from Montmartre was Eugene Breton in May 1938.Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 95. Committees were established to provide support to troops. For example, the Rehabilitation Committee was made up of businessmen who aimed to help returning soldiers financially. The Victory Bond Committee went through villages and the Rural Municipality selling war bonds. The Red Cross Committee was established to raise funds and create care packages to send to troops overseas.Montmartre: History of the Village, 2012, vol. 1, 95-96.
Rations were instituted in Montmartre, including sugar, butter, meat, gasoline, and farm implements. With the men gone, this left the women, children, and seniors to take on their duties, which was particularly difficult on farms. The war was over in Europe on May 8, 1945. The May 16, 1945, edition of the Wolseley News reported Victory Day in Montmartre began with mass led by Father Leon Savoie, and at 2 pm there was a parade through every street in the village ending at Paul's Hall. 1,200 people participated, led by a car bearing the flags of all Allied nations. Picture shows were shown throughout the day, and a mock trial was carried out in which indictments against a life-size effigy of Adolf Hitler were read. After the mock trial, the effigy was carried to the Canadian National Railway grounds and hoisted on top of a huge bonfire.The Wolseley News, Vol. 47, No. 13, 1945 This was followed by fireworks and a dance in the hall. A parade also followed Victory Day in Japan on August 15, 1945. In the afternoon, a train carrying 1,500 returning soldiers from overseas, who were given 2,400 cigarettes from the young people of the village.The Wolseley News, Vol. 47, No. 29 1945
Montmartre casualties