Watson, Saskatchewan
Town in Saskatchewan, Canada
title: "Watson, Saskatchewan" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["towns-in-saskatchewan", "lakeside-no.-338,-saskatchewan", "division-no.-10,-saskatchewan"] description: "Town in Saskatchewan, Canada" topic_path: "general/towns-in-saskatchewan" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watson,_Saskatchewan" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Town in Saskatchewan, Canada ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| official_name | Watson |
| settlement_type | Town |
| image_skyline | Watson Saskatchewan Main Street.jpg |
| image_caption | Main Street |
| motto | Industrial Crossroads of Saskatchewan |
| pushpin_map | Saskatchewan#Canada |
| pushpin_map_caption | Location in Saskatchewan |
| coordinates | |
| subdivision_type | Country |
| subdivision_name | Canada |
| subdivision_type1 | Provinces and territories of Canada |
| subdivision_name1 | Saskatchewan |
| subdivision_type2 | Rural Municipalities (RM) |
| subdivision_name2 | Lakeside No. 338 |
| established_title | Post office founded (as Vossen) |
| established_date | 1904-04-01 |
| established_title2 | Incorporated (village) |
| established_date2 | 1906-05-01 |
| established_title3 | Incorporated (town) |
| established_date3 | August 1, 1908 |
| leader_title | Mayor |
| leader_name | Bruce Nordick |
| leader_title1 | Federal Electoral District Humboldt - Melfort - Tisdale MP |
| leader_title2 | Provincial Constituency Melfort MLA |
| area_total_km2 | 2.83 |
| population_total | 697 |
| population_as_of | 2016 |
| population_density_km2 | 274.7 |
| timezone_DST | CST |
| footnotes | {{cite web |
| url | http://www.municipal.gov.sk.ca/Municipal-History/Urban-Incorporated-Dates |
| title | Urban Municipality Incorporations |
| publisher | Saskatchewan Ministry of Municipal Affairs |
| format | |
| access-date | 2011-04-25}}{{cite web |
| title | 2011 Community Profiles |
| work | Statistics Canada |
| publisher | Government of Canada |
| url | http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E |
| access-date | 2014-04-09 |
| archive-date | December 26, 2018 |
| archive-url | https://web.archive.org/web/20181226131643/http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E%0A |
| url-status | dead |
| }}<ref name | "post office"{{Cite web |
| 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 | 2014-07-15}}{{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 | 2014-07-15 |
| archive-date | January 15, 2016 |
| archive-url | https://web.archive.org/web/20160115125115/http://www.mds.gov.sk.ca/apps/Pub/MDS/welcome.aspx |
| url-status | dead |
| }}<ref name | "federal"{{Cite web |
| 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 | 2014-07-15}} |
| :: |
| official_name = Watson | settlement_type = Town | image_skyline = Watson Saskatchewan Main Street.jpg | image_caption = Main Street | motto = Industrial Crossroads of Saskatchewan | pushpin_map = Saskatchewan#Canada | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Saskatchewan | coordinates = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Canada | subdivision_type1 = Provinces and territories of Canada | subdivision_name1 = Saskatchewan | subdivision_type2 = Rural Municipalities (RM) | subdivision_name2 = Lakeside No. 338 | established_title = Post office founded (as Vossen) | established_date = 1904-04-01 | established_title2 = Incorporated (village) | established_date2 = 1906-05-01 | established_title3 = Incorporated (town) | established_date3 = August 1, 1908 | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Bruce Nordick | leader_title1 = Federal Electoral District Humboldt - Melfort - Tisdale MP | leader_title2 = Provincial Constituency Melfort MLA | area_total_km2 = 2.83 | elevation_m = | population_total = 697 | population_as_of = 2016 | population_density_km2 = 274.7 | timezone = | utc_offset = | timezone_DST = CST | utc_offset_DST = | website = | footnotes = {{cite web |url = http://www.municipal.gov.sk.ca/Municipal-History/Urban-Incorporated-Dates |title = Urban Municipality Incorporations |publisher = Saskatchewan Ministry of Municipal Affairs |format = PDF |access-date = 2011-04-25}}{{cite web | title =2011 Community Profiles | work =Statistics Canada | publisher =Government of Canada | url =http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E | access-date =2014-04-09 | archive-date =December 26, 2018 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20181226131643/http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/index.cfm?Lang=E%0A | url-status =dead | 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 =2014-07-15}}{{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 =2014-07-15 | archive-date =January 15, 2016 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20160115125115/http://www.mds.gov.sk.ca/apps/Pub/MDS/welcome.aspx | url-status =dead | 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 =2014-07-15}}
Watson is a town of 777 residents in the Rural Municipality of Lakeside No. 338, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Watson is located on the intersection of Highway 5 and Highway 6, the Canam Highway. Watson is approximately the same distance from Saskatoon which is to the west, and Regina to the south, which gives rise to its town motto, "Industrial Crossroads of Saskatchewan".
History
Settlers began arriving in the early 1900s, many of them German American Catholics.{{cite encyclopedia |url = http://esask.uregina.ca/entry/watson.html |title = Watson |last = McLennan |first = David |encyclopedia = Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan |publisher = Canadian Plains Research Center, University of Regina |year = 2006 |access-date = 2011-04-25}} The first post office in the area was established on April 1, 1904 and named Vossen after its postmaster, Frank J. Vossen Jr.{{cite web |url = http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/post-offices/001001-119.01-e.php?&isn_id_nbr=11830&interval=24&&PHPSESSID=th6pffb57dccbmv6o69emd79e5 |title = Watson |work = Post Offices and Postmasters |publisher = Library and Archives Canada |date = January 31, 2007 |access-date = 2011-04-25}} It was changed to Watson on May 1, 1906, in advance of the village's incorporation on October 6, 1906. The village became a town on August 1, 1908.{{cite web |url = http://www.qp.gov.sk.ca/documents/english/Private/Acts/pr-w6.pdf |title = Watson: Incorporating Village as a Town |publisher = Government of Saskatchewan |date = August 1, 1908 |access-date = 2011-04-25}} The town's namesake is Senator Robert Watson. Senator Watson, originally owned the land the town was built on.{{cite web |url = http://www.saskbiz.ca/communityprofiles/communityprofile.asp?CommunityID=350 |title = Community Profiles: Watson |work = SaskBiz |publisher = Enterprise Saskatchewan |year = 2009 |access-date = 2011-04-25}} Watson celebrated its first Santa Claus Day in 1932, and in 1996 erected a 25 ft-high Santa Claus to commemorate the event.{{cite web |url = http://www.roadsideattractions.ca/santa.htm |title = Santa Claus Watson, Saskatchewan |last = Solonyka |first = Ed |work = Large Canadian Roadside Attractions |access-date = 2011-04-25}}{{cite web |url = http://www.bigthings.ca/sask/watson.html |title = Town of Watson |last = Yanciw |first = David |work = Big Things: The Monuments of Canada |date = September 17, 2002 |access-date = 2011-04-25}}{{cite web |url = http://www.townofwatson.ca/tourism.html |title = Tourism |publisher = Town of Watson |year = 2010 |access-date = 2011-04-25}}
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Watson had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of 2.96 km2, it had a population density of in 2021. ::data[format=table]
| {{canada_census | 2001_population=794 | 2001_pop_delta=-5.1 | 2001_land_area=2.83 | 2001_pop_density=280.6 | 2001_pop_rank= | 2001_median_age=43.8 | 2001_median_age_m=41.4 | 2001_median_age_f=47.5 | 2001_total_pvt_dwell=371 | 2001_mean_hh_income=31,460 | 2001_access_date=2011-07-17 | 2006_population=719 | 2006_pop_delta=-9.4 | 2006_land_area=2.83 | 2006_pop_density=254.2 | 2006_pop_rank= | 2006_median_age=N/A | 2006_median_age_m=N/A | 2006_median_age_f=N/A | 2006_total_pvt_dwell=362 | 2006_total_pvt_dwell_usual=315 | 2006_mean_hh_income=N/A | 2006_access_date=2009-02-24 | 2011_population=777 | 2011_pop_delta=8.1 | 2011_land_area=2.83 | 2011_pop_density=274.7 | 2011_pop_rank= | 2011_median_age=48.0 | 2011_median_age_m=45.5 | 2011_median_age_f=49.1 | 2011_total_pvt_dwell=364 | 2011_total_pvt_dwell_usual=331 | 2011_mean_hh_income=N/A | 2011_access_date=2012-07-08 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| :: |
Geography
Jansen Lake, Houghton Lake, Lenore Lake, Ironspring Creek, and the Quill Lakes are all close to Watson.
McNab Regional Park
McNab Regional Park () is a regional park on the south side of Watson. Access is from Highway 6. The park has a golf course, campground, mini-golf, swimming pool, and playground. The golf course is a 9-hole, par 35 grass greens course. The men's tees total 3,174 yards while the women's total 2,946. The clubhouse is licensed and there are rentals available.
The park, founded in 1980, was named after the Peter McNab family. Peter McNab was a professional ice hockey player who played on five different NHL teams during the 1970s and 1980s. Max McNab, who also played in the NHL and was born in Watson, was there at the time to officially open the park.
In 2001, the park was upgraded with an expanded golf course, grass greens, a new clubhouse, and a larger pool complex.
Transportation
The town is located at the junction of Saskatchewan Highway 5 and Saskatchewan Highway 6.
;Railway Melfort Subdivision C.P.R—serves Lanigan, Leroy, Watson, Spalding{{cite book |url = http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~canmaps/1925Waghorn/January1925-128-129.html |title = Waghorn's Guide |last = Waghorn |first = J.R. |issue = 493 |publisher = The Guide Co. |location = Winnipeg |date = January 1925 |access-date = 2011-04-25}}
Margo Subdivision Canadian National Railway
Notable people
- Dustin Tokarski – NHL Goaltender
- Ross Lonsberry – NHL Player
- Max McNab – NHL Player, Coach, GM
- Rod Gantefoer – Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan MLA, Finance
References
References
- (February 9, 2022). "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Saskatchewan". [[Statistics Canada]].
- "McNab Regional Park". Government of Canada.
- "McNab Regional Park". Government of Saskatchewan.
- "McNab Regional Park, Watson, Sk". Town of Watson.
- "McNab". Saskatchewan Regional Parks.
- "Maps and Network | Our Services | cn.ca".
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::