Welcome to Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada
Your Swift Current (Maple Creek, Shaunavon, Gull Lake)
area contact is Lanette Thoreson (REMAX of Swift Current.) Please refer to the "Relocating to Swift Current" section to the right for
the phone number, address, website, and email address to contact Lanette Thoreson directly.
Ask about the REMAX MLS real estate homes for sale including residential houses, apartments, condos, duplexes, acreages and farms.
Swift Current summary
Swift Current is a small city in Southwest Saskatchewan. It is situated along the Trans Canada Highway 170 kilometers (106 mi) west from Moose Jaw,
Saskatchewan and 218 kilometers (135 mi) east from Medicine Hat, Alberta. Swift Current grew 0.8% between 2001 and 2006 ending up at 14,946 residents.
REMAX MLS real estate homes for sale including
residential houses, apartments, condos, duplexes, acreages and
farms.
Swift Current has a long history which begins with a creek. The creek winds its way across a hundred miles of prairie until it empties into the South
Saskatchewan River. First Nations people knew it well and camped alongside the creek banks for centuries. The name of the creek has its own history, and over
time has evolved into what we know today as Swift Current. The first known name is believed to have come from the Cree, who referred to it as "kisiskâciwan."
The word means "it flows swiftly," and is the same word used to describe the Saskatchewan River. When early fur traders found the creek on their westward treks
in the 1800s, they named it "Riviere Au Courant," which means "Swift Current". Henri Julien, who was an artist with the North West Mounted Police expedition
that arrived in 1874, referred to it as "Du Courant," while Commissioner French noted "Strong Current Creek" in his diary during the same period. Given the
creek's snail like pace in most years, the sobriety and even sanity of the early explorers must be questioned. It would be another decade before it was officially
recorded, but it appears the area was and always has been known as Swift Current.
REMAX MLS real estate homes for sale including
residential houses, apartments, condos, duplexes, acreages and
farms. The settlement of Swift Current was begun in 1881 when the CPR surveyed a railway line as far as Swift Current Creek. In 1882, initial grading and track
preparation commenced, with the first settlers arriving in the spring of 1883. During the early part of its settlement, the economy was based almost exclusively
on serving the new railway buildings and employees. There was also a significant ranching operation known as the "76" ranches. It included 10 ranches raising
sheep and cattle and stretched from Swift Current to Calgary. Other early industries included gathering Buffalo bones for use in fertilizer manufacturing and
"freighting" by Metis residents. During the Riel Rebellion of 1885, Swift Current became a major military base and troop mustering area due to its proximity
to Battleford but this was only for a short time. On September 21, 1903, the hamlet became a village and then a town on March 15, 1907 when a census indicated
a population of 550. There is some dispute as to whether this is because they counted dogs in the population. Swift Current became incorporated as a city on
January 15, 1914 with Travis Blaine Frederick being the mayor at the time.
In 1946, a pilot project for province-wide health care began in Swift Current. The project received international attention and history was made when it became
the first government funded medical plan in North America. Medicare was implemented across the province in 1962, and in time it would be introduced across the
country. REMAX MLS real estate homes for sale
including residential houses, apartments, condos, duplexes, acreages
and farms.
The Swift Current Airport was taken over by the City of Swift Current from Transport Canada in 1996. Airport services were then contracted out. There have been
recent (2005 - 2006) plans to expand and revitalize the airport along side the rural municipalities surrounding Swift Current.
Swift Current is sometimes known as "Speedy Creek". Considered to be slightly pejorative, this term is very seldom used by current or former residents. In more
common usage by these groups are the terms "Swift", "Swifty" and unfortunately, more often than not given the diaspora of more ambitious Saskatchewan youth,
"a good place to be from". REMAX MLS real
estate homes for sale including residential houses, apartments,
condos, duplexes, acreages and farms.
Swift Current's expression is, "Where Life Makes Sense," which has received a fair amount of humour as it is a somewhat odd tagline written by an Albertan.
Text & photo credits
The text contained in 'Swift Current Summary' above is courtesy of Wikipedia.com.
The article ('Swift Current Summary') is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License
(See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.)
It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Swift Current, Saskatchewan".
The Swift Current header image on this page is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Reference:
Header.