Pinehouse

Pinehouse is a northern village located in the boreal forest of Saskatchewan on the western shore of Pinehouse Lake within the Canadian Shield.

Pinehouse
Northern village[1]
Location of Pinehouse on a NASA image of Pinehouse Lake
Pinehouse Location of Pinehouse in Saskatchewan
Coordinates: 55°30′49″N 106°35′55″W
Country	Canada
Province	Saskatchewan
Government
• Mayor	Mike Natomagan
• MLA Athabasca	Buckley Belanger
• MP Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River	Georgina Jolibois
Area
• Land	6.84 km^2 (2.64 sq mi)
Population  (2016)[2]
• Total	1,074
• Density	142.9/km^2 (370/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5
Postal code	S0J 2B0
Highways	Hwy 914
Post office established	1949
[3][4][5]

Travelling by road from Pinehouse, the Key Lake mine is 223 km (138 miles) north, Prince Albert is 346 km (215 miles) south, La Ronge is 214 km (133 miles) east and Beauval, the closest community, is 107 km (67 miles) west. Highway 914 passes through the community and Pinehouse is the only established community along this road, other than uranium mines.

There were 1,074 residents in 2016.[2] Cree was the mother tongue of 630 of the residents in 2011.[6] The mayor of this predominantly Métis settlement is Mike Natomagan.[7]

History

There was a North West Company post and a rival post near the mouth of the Tippo River called Lac des Serpents (Lake of Serpents or Snake Lake) in 1786.[8]

The Hudson's Bay Company had a post at the north end of Pinehouse Lake called the Souris River Post. It was located about 2 km west of the mouth of the Belanger River once known as the Souris River. Most of the residents of this settlement which numbered about 100 people in the 1920s and 1930s eventually moved to Pinehouse.[9] The Souris River Post near Sandfly Lake operated from 1875 to 1939.[8] The Census of 1906 called this settlement then numbering 73 people Souris River on the Churchill.[10][11]

Missionaries first visited the Dene population of Pinehouse Lake in 1899. A smallpox epidemic killed around half of the population of the area in 1900-1901. Some survivors moved up the Churchill River towards Patuanak and downriver to Stanley Mission further depleting the area population.[12]

The 1906 Canada Census uses the name Serpent Lake on the Churchill[10] to describe the community that then had about 11 people which included the family of Samuel and Veronique Misponass.

A townsite was established in the 1940s and a Roman Catholic church (St. Dominic) was built in 1944 followed by a store and in 1948 a school. In 1954 the community was renamed Pinehouse Lake.[12] Pinehouse was originally named Snake Lake (kinêpiko-sâkahikam in Cree[13]) and elders still use this name in reference to the community. Although officially named Pinehouse, numerous official sources including the official road map of Saskatchewan issued by the province, identifies the community by the name Pinehouse Lake.

Eighty houses were built between 1967 and 1980 and Pinehouse was connected to the power grid in 1984 replacing a diesel generator set up around 1970. The first road to the community was built from Highway 2 in 1977.[9]

Historical populations

Year	Pop.	±%
1986	682	—
1991	820	+20.2%
1996	922	+12.4%
2001	1,038	+12.6%
2006	1,076	+3.7%
2011	978	−9.1%
2016	1,074	+9.8%
[14][15][2]

Infrastructure

Pinehouse is home to a store, a gas station, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment, the northern village's office and a health clinic. The community is served by Pinehouse Lake Airport. The community is also home to the Pinehouse Photography Club, a non-profit organization that supports and encourages youth mental health prevention through therapeutic photography.[16]

The ice skating arena features an artificial ice plant.[17]

Education

Pinehouse has two schools - Minahik Waskahigan Elementary School and Minahik Waskahigan High School. The schools are in the Northern Lights School Division #113[18] and have an enrolment of 400 students and a support staff of 40.[19]

See also

• List of communities in Northern Saskatchewan
• List of communities in Saskatchewan
• Villages of Saskatchewan

References

1. "Search for Municipal Information". Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved April 7, 2014.
2. "Population and dwelling count amendments, 2016 Census". Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved November 15, 2018.
3. National Archives, Archivia Net. "Post Offices and Postmasters". Retrieved 2013-10-02.
4. Government of Saskatchewan, MRD Home. "Municipal Directory System (Northern Village of PINEHOUSE)". Archived from the original on January 15, 2016. Retrieved 2013-10-02.
5. "Directory of Communities by Saskatchewan Electoral District" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
6. "Canada Census 2011". Retrieved 2013-01-31.
7. "Municipal Directory System (Northern Village of PINEHOUSE)". Retrieved 2013-01-31.
8. "ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SASKATCHEWAN". Retrieved 2013-01-31.
9. Marchildon, Greg; Robinson, Sid (2002). Canoeing the Churchill: A Practical Guide to the Historic Voyageur Highway. Regina: University of Regina. p. 203. ISBN 0-88977-148-0.
10. "Census of 1906 (page 32)". Retrieved 2013-01-31.
11. "Census 1906 (History of La Loche)". Retrieved 2013-02-03.
12. Quiring, David M. (2004). CCF Colonialism in Northern Saskatchewan by David M. Quiring. ISBN 9780774809399. Retrieved 2013-01-31.
13. "Main Street, Saskatchewan (Pinehouse Lake)". Retrieved 2013-01-31.
14. "Saskatchewan Census Population (Northern Hamlets and villages)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 12 July 2015.
15. "2011 Community Profiles". Statistics Canada. Government of Canada. Retrieved May 29, 2012.
16. "A New Lens on Life (CBC / Madeline Kotzer)". December 15, 2018. Retrieved 2019-09-08.
17. "Northern Saskatchewan village reaps benefits from uranium deal (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Liam Richards)". May 14, 2013. Retrieved 2014-10-19.
18. "Northern Lights School Division #113". Retrieved 2013-01-31.
19. "Minahik Waskahigan School". Retrieved 2013-01-31.