Baljennie

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Baljennie
Baljennie is located in Saskatchewan
Baljennie
Baljennie
Coordinates: 52°19′16″N 107°32′06″W / 52.321°N 107.535°W / 52.321; -107.535
CountryCanada
ProvinceSaskatchewan
RegionWest-central
Census division12
Rural MunicipalityGlenside
Government
 • ReeveWade Parkinson
 • AdministratorCheryl Forbes
 • Governing bodyGlenside No. 377[1]
Time zoneCST
Area code306
[2][3][4][5]

Baljennie is an unincorporated community in Glenside Rural Municipality No. 377, Saskatchewan, Canada. Its first post office opened in 1891.[6]

History[edit]

Baljennie was named by an early resident, Stephen ('Sandy') Warden,[7] after his daughter Jean, and was originally spelt Baljeanie.[8] Warden, a former officer of the North-West Mounted Police, had established a ranch in the area in the early 1880s, which subsequently became a staging post for mail coaches travelling between Saskatoon and Battleford.[8] A school was opened at Baljennie in August 1912.[9]

The Canadian Pacific Railway extended its line northward from Asquith to Baljennie in 1931.[10] The line between Sonningdale and Baljennie was closed in June 1977.[11]

Baljennie had a population of 76 at the time of the 1951 census,[12] but declined in later years. The school was closed in 1970 and was turned into a community centre.[9] The community's last business closed in 1991, and its derelict Anglican church was destroyed by fire three years later.[13] After several years during which Baljennie was effectively a ghost town, a number of families moved to the town site from 2007 onwards.[13]

Notable people[edit]

Cultural references[edit]

In her 1976 song "Coyote", Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, who grew up in Saskatoon, sings "I looked the coyote right in the face/On the road to Baljennie near my old hometown".

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Glenside No. 377
  2. ^ National Archives, Archivia Net, Post Offices and Postmasters, archived from the original on October 6, 2006
  3. ^ Government of Saskatchewan, MRD Home, Municipal Directory System, archived from the original on November 21, 2008
  4. ^ Canadian Textiles Institute. (2005), CTI Determine your provincial constituency, archived from the original on September 11, 2007
  5. ^ Commissioner of Canada Elections, Chief Electoral Officer of Canada (2005), Elections Canada On-line, archived from the original on April 21, 2007
  6. ^ Baljennie reaches far. 1980. p. 110. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  7. ^ Barry, Bill (2003). People Places: Contemporary Saskatchewan Placenames. p. 244. ISBN 9781894022927.
  8. ^ a b Saskatchewan History, vol I, 1 (1948), 28.
  9. ^ a b School's centennial celebrated, Battleford News-Optimist, 07-09-12
  10. ^ McLennan, David (2008). Our Towns: Saskatchewan Communities from Abbey to Zenon Park. University of Regina Press. p. 252.
  11. ^ Grain and Rail in Western Canada: Report of the Grain Handling and Transportation Commission, 1977, p.442
  12. ^ Ninth Census of Canada, "Population: unincorporated villages and hamlets", p.53
  13. ^ a b New life for Saskatchewan hamlet, CBC News, 02-01-08

52°19′16″N 107°32′06″W / 52.321°N 107.535°W / 52.321; -107.535