Fort San | |
|---|---|
| Resort Village of Fort San | |
 Fort San looking towardsFort Qu'Appelle, 1920s | |
  Fort San | |
| Coordinates:50°48′00″N103°49′08″W / 50.8°N 103.819°W /50.8; -103.819[1] | |
| Country | Canada |
| Province | Saskatchewan |
| Census division | 6 |
| Rural municipality | RM of North Qu'Appelle No. 187 |
| Incorporated[2] | September 1, 1987 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Jack Huntington |
| • Governing body | Resort Village Council |
| • Administrator | Amy Railton |
| Area (2021)[4] | |
| • Land | 2.55 km2 (0.98 sq mi) |
| Population (2021)[4] | |
• Total | 233 |
| • Density | 91.4/km2 (237/sq mi) |
| Time zone | CST |
| • Summer (DST) | CST |
| Postal code | S0G 1S0 |
| Area codes | 306 and 639 |
| Highway(s) | Highway 56 |
| Waterway(s) | Echo Lake |
| Website | Official website |
Fort San (2016 population:222) is aresort village in theCanadian province ofSaskatchewan withinCensus Division No. 6. It is on the shores ofEcho Lake of theFishing Lakes in theRural Municipality of North Qu'Appelle No. 187. It is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west ofFort Qu'Appelle and approximately 77 kilometres (48 mi) northeast ofRegina.
Prior to becoming a resort village, Fort San was originally asanatorium. Following the closure of the sanatorium, the area was first repurposed as a venue to house theSaskatchewan Summer School of the Arts. The resort village now houses theEcho Valley Conference Centre.
Fort San incorporated as a resort village on September 1, 1987.[2]
Seventy years earlier, Fort San was opened as a sanatorium in 1917 during a time whentuberculosis infections were increasing. The facility was built to house 358 patients. It was a self-sufficient institution with vegetable gardens, livestock, a power house, and an extensive library for patients provided byWorld War I veterans.
After tuberculosis became less of a threat in the early 1960s, the sanatorium building's purpose was changed to house theSaskatchewan Summer School of the Arts in 1967. For thirty years, thousands of young people received summer tuition in dance, music, visual art, writing, and theatre. Through the 1970s the facilities were expanded and improved to support the school over its 30 years. "Over 1,200 children and adults attended the seven-week program at the School during the summer of 1968."[5] The school was closed in 1991 due to lack of funding.[6] The Sage Hill Writing Experience is one of the spin-offs of the school that continued to operate using a variety of venues around the province.[7] Existing facilities were expanded and improved throughout the 1970s as the popularity of the School increased.
Fort San was run as aRoyal Canadian Sea Cadet Camp namedHMCS Qu'Appelle Cadet Summer Training Centre during the summers of the nineties to 2004. The programs offered were:
One of the operating rooms was even converted to a 4 bunk barrack room and the cadets taking sailing or general training generally slept directly over the morgue.
It is anurban legend that Fort San is haunted by patients who died there in its early years. Several authors have documented different accounts of strange occurrences which transpired in the time since it was decommissioned as a sanatorium.[8]
TheEcho Valley Conference Centre, a provincial government run conference facility is operated out of the historic building on the site. The conference centre makes use of Arts and Craft/Tudor Revival style building built from 1912 to 1922 for use by the sanitarium.[9] On September 30, 2004 a decision was made by the Saskatchewan Property Management Corporation to shut down the Centre and offer it for sale.[10]
In the2021 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, Fort San had a population of233 living in120 of its203 total private dwellings, a change of5% from its 2016 population of222. With a land area of 2.55 km2 (0.98 sq mi), it had a population density of91.4/km2 (236.7/sq mi) in 2021.[4]
In the2016 Census of Population conducted byStatistics Canada, the Resort Village of Fort San recorded a population of222 living in93 of its178 total private dwellings, a18.7% change from its 2011 population of187. With a land area of 2.9 km2 (1.1 sq mi), it had a population density of76.6/km2 (198.3/sq mi) in 2016.[13]
The Resort Village of Fort San is governed by an elected municipal council and an appointed administrator that meets on the third Tuesday of every month.[3] Themayor is Jack Huntington and its administrator is Amy Railton.[3]
Places adjacent to Fort San, Saskatchewan | |
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