WELCOME TO LEROY
LeRoy is centrally located with paved access to highway 5, 6, & 16. It is 6 miles from BHP Jansen Potash Project, 30 minutes from Humboldt, 20 minutes from Watson, 1 1/2 hours from Saskatoon, 2 hours from Regina, and 35 minutes from Lanigan. There are paved streets, the town has reverse osmosis water and excellent cellular coverage.
LeRoy is a community of approximately 500 people. The community offers a wide variety of recreational, cultural, spiritual and social groups for all ages.
A little history…
In the 1800’s, the Salteaux Indian Chief Yellow Quill, who roamed with his band throughout the area, claimed the Quill Plains to be his own. Federal Indian Treaties negotiated around the year 1886 caused the band to be broken up and placed on neighboring reserves. The European settlers were moving west and occupying the land.
The Town of LeRoy, the Municipality Centre, is surrounded by prosperous agricultural district. The early settlers were mostly English, Scotch, Irish and Scandinavian, but since that time, a good many German families have moved in.
In 1903, our first settlers in the Municipality or LeRoy were brothers, Alvin and Gordon Gregory, originally from Mount Forest, Ontario then they came from Swift Current to Saskatoon. Having heard of the much advertised Quill Plains, they set out from Saskatoon by covered wagon and travelled on the Carlton Trail to Humboldt on east past Iron Springs, later called Watson, before the coming on the C.N.R. They settled on Section 16-35-19 W2nd, about four miles east of where LeRoy now stands. They built a log cabin and brought their mother from Yorkton by wagon, the trip took 10 days.
On May 1, 1906, the Gregory brothers’ mother established the Natika rural post office, located in their home, which was named after an Indian maiden. The Baptist church serves were also held in their home at intervals, by a Minister from Quill Lake travelling by horseback.
In 1907, the first school, known as Bogend, was built one mile east of the present town site. Presbyterian Church and Sunday school were held in the school and attended by everyone for miles around. Picnics, dances and ball games were the main sources of amusement at that time.
From 1905 to 1913 the area was the Local Improvement District (L.I.D.). In 1913, the L.I.D. was constituted as the Rural Municipality of Roach No. 339, as meetings were held at the home of James Roach. In 1914, the Council petitioned the Minister of Municipal Affairs, and was granted a name change to the Rural Municipality of Ayr No. 339, containing Bogend Post Office, established in 1905, and Bogend School in 1907. This RM name continued until 1930, when a petition again changed the name to the Rural Municipality of LeRoy No. 339.
In 1920, the Canadian Pacific Railway was built, linking LeRoy with Lanigan and Watson. Bogend was not considered a suitable name for our village, so LeRoy was chosen in honor of John LeRoy, who gave his life in World War I. He was the son of one of the first families to settle here.
Dr. Hindson was our first municipal Doctor arriving in 1922. The land was taxed to pay his salary and it proved to be a wonderful boon to the settlers.
LeRoy is well known as a Co-operative district; the Community Hall and Cheese Factory were built by shareholders.
Many changes have taken place since LeRoy was incorporated as a village on December 5, 1922 and as a Town in 1963. A dial telephone system was introduced in 1963. In 1964, Natural Gas was brought to the town. In Jubilee year, 1965, our water and sewer system was installed.
At the LeRoy Union Hospital, the health needs were taken care of by Dr. P. Korol, the resident doctor and Mrs. MacCuish as Matron. Prior to this, the Matron, Mrs. Brown, served our community for years. The first Matron was Miss Verna Barclay.
There were seven churches; Anglican, Baptist, Jehovah’s Witness, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Roman Catholic and United of Canada.
Sources:
- As the Furrows Turn 1900-1985
- The History of LeRoy and District 1867-1967
