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Lanigan, Saskatchewan sits in the midst of a peaceful landscape of rolling prairie grass, poplar bluffs and northern bush scarred only by the deep tracks and intertwining paths of the once abundant prairie buffalo. The surrounding area teems with wildlife even today and while there are still few nearby roads, the town borders on the Carlton Trail, the main transportation route through the Canadian northwest during the early 1900s.
Although at first it was accessible only by foot, oxen or horse teams with light wagons, Lanigan’s role as a junction was enough to draw early settlers and tradespeople from many places. Visitors and supplies travelled from railway stations as far away as Regina 125 miles to the south, Davidson 80 miles to the southwest, Watson 40 miles to the northeast and Humboldt 30 miles to the north. These were winding, meandering trips that lasted for several days.
This exhibition depicts how travelers of the time endured these arduous treks and focuses on how transportation in the region changed over the ensuing century.
