Orkney

Orkney

Orkney, Sask, incorporated as a rural municipality in 1913, population 1860 (2011c), 1748 (2006c). The Rural Municipality of Orkney surrounds the city of YORKTON on three sides to the north, south and west. The name was given to the area by early settlers, who were Scottish immigrants from the Orkney Islands (seeORKNEYMEN). The first settlers in the area were part of the York Farmers Colonization Company, which was a block settlement group from York County in Ontario. They arrived between 1882 and 1890. A log school house was built in 1887 and was replaced by a stone building in 1897. The Orkney Presbyterian Church was built of local stone in 1894. Both the school and the church are now historic sites.

Since 1926 the Rural Municipality of Orkney has had a joint administration with the neighbouring rural municipality of Wallace. There are 2 communities in the rural municipality, Orcadia, a stop on the Canadian Pacific Railway line and White Spruce.