Rosthern is a town at the juncture of Highway 11 and Highway 312 in central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is located roughly halfway between the cities of Prince Albert and Saskatoon.

History

Mennonite settlers, led by Gerhard Ens, began arriving in the area around 1890, with the establishment of the Qu'Appelle, Long Lake & Saskatchewan Railway to Prince Albert. The post office was established in 1893, and by 1898 the community achieved village status. In 1903, Rosthern was incorporated as a town.

There are several apocryphal versions of the story about how the town got its name. One is that in the late 1880s when the railway ran through from Regina to Prince Albert a man by the name of Ross drowned in the creek that flows through the town. Terne is old English for tarn meaning a pool, and the name stuck. In all likelihood, however, the town's name echoes an old world name brought over by a homesick worker on the railroad, in this case that of Rostherne, a village in the United Kingdom.

Attractions and recreation

Rosthern has a public library, many parks and walking trails, Valley Regional Park with an 18-hole grass green golf course, two ball-diamonds, two indoor hockey rinks, a curling rink, bowling alley, and three school gyms. An outdoor swimming pool was completed in 2005. Rosthern is also home to the Youth Farm Bible Camp.

Nearby Rosthern is the Seager Wheeler Farm, a National Historic Site of Canada, and the Rosthern Mennonite Heritage Museum (c. 1909–10). It is a Municipal Heritage Property on the Canadian Register of Historic Places.

Valley Regional Park

Valley Regional Park (52°41′00″N 106°18′02″W / 52.6834°N 106.3006°W / 52.6834; -106.3006), founded in 1974, is a regional park about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north-east of Rosthern on the western shore of Rempel Lake. The park has an 18-hole golf course, campground, and picnic area. There is also a 100-foot slide and an 80-foot zip line. The campground has about 80 campsites and modern washrooms and showers. Access to the park is from Highway 11.

Valley Regional Park Golf Club is an 18-hole, par 72 course with grass greens and 6,577 total yards. There is a pro shop, practice green, and a licensed clubhouse.

Churches

Rosthern is home to over ten churches including Mennonite, Ukrainian Orthodox, Swedenborgian, Pentecostal, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Ukrainian Catholic, Lutheran, Seventh-day Adventist, Christian & Missionary Alliance, and Baptist.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Rosthern had a population of 1,602 living in 642 of its 694 total private dwellings, a change of -5.1% from its 2016 population of 1,688. With a land area of 4.14 km (1.60 sq mi), it had a population density of 387.0/km (1,002.2/sq mi) in 2021.

Notable people

See also

• List of communities in Saskatchewan