page_title: Indian Head, Saskatchewan
section_title: Historical economy
hierarchical_section_title: Indian Head, Saskatchewan / History / Historical economy
caption_attribution_description: English: Reaping Indian Head. Assa NWT 190-
context_page_description: Indian Head is a town in southeast Saskatchewan, Canada, 69 kilometres east of Regina on the Trans-Canada Highway. It "had its beginnings in 1882 as the first settlers, mainly of Scottish origin, pushed into the area in advance of the railroad, most traveling by ox-cart from Brandon." "Indian" refers to Aboriginal Canadians. The town is known for its federally operated experimental farm and tree nursery, which has produced and distributed seedlings for shelter belts since 1901. For many years the program was run by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration.
  Indian Head was incorporated as a town in 1902 and the Canadian Journal noted that the community was the largest point of initial shipment of wheat in the world. Today it is run by the Agroforestry Development Centre. Today the town "has a range of professional services and tradespeople, financial institutions, and a large number of retail establishments." The CBC television sitcom Little Mosque on the Prairie was partially filmed here.
context_section_description: Historically, according to the Department of Agriculture, the Indian Head district ranked highest for wheat production in the North West Territories in 1903, 1904 and 1905.  The Indian Head Experimental Station exceeded the Brandon Experimental station by seven bushels of wheat per acre for ten years.  For a town of population 1,800 in 1905, it boasted twelve grain elevators which were erected along the Canadian Pacific Railway, with each elevator having the capacity to hold approximately 350,000 bushels.  This location handled a higher quantity of grain in 1902 in the initiatory shipment stage than any other inland port in the world.
  The North-West Rebellion in 1885 caused the farmland of the Qu'Appelle Valley Farming Company to lie untended as their horses and wagons were used in the military engagement.  The summer of 1886 provided a good crop as the land was allowed to collect moisture. The Indian Head Experimental Farm then followed up and said: "fallowing the land is the best preparation to ensure a crop."
  The Territorial Grain Growers’ Association (TGGA) was formed in the winter of 1901 at Indian Head.  It was a collective of farmers in the Qu'Appelle Valley responding to the Sinatluta Case.  In the fall of 1901 farmers were trying to ship a large harvest and they could not sell it due to a boxcar shortage.  The existing elevators neighter were set up to hold the amount of grain that year.  Farmers lost about half of a record wheat crop. William Richard Motherwell became the first president and pressed for a change to the Manitoba Act which would allow farmers access to railway cars on a first-come, first-served basis.
  In the early 20th century Indian Head was the financial centre of the district and distribution point. Three banks established branches, the Opera House was erected by Mr. Osment, and The Club conducted its operations within the opera house block.  The Lady Minto Hospital was erected at a cost of CA$6,000. ($6,000 is equivalent to $171 thousand in present day terms. Streetscapes were extremely lively before the arrival of motorised automobiles, trucks and farm implements. Farmers' drives to Indian Head were extremely frequent; expeditions to Regina, the nearest city, the Qu'Appelle Valley and near towns were considerably less convenient than they became once car and truck engines existed and Number 1 Highway was vastly upgraded from the 1950s onwards: trips were most easily made by the frequent trains, which carried passengers in early days until substantially replaced by road vehicles.
caption: Reaping near Indian Head, 190-
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