Riversdale, Saskatoon

The Gilmour family home in Saskatoon (see posts under 428 Avenue E South) was located in the district of Riversdale - here is a brief history of the community:  

Saskatoon’s earliest Euro Canadian settlement, a pioneer temperance colony, developed on both the east and west side of the South Saskatchewan riverbank.

In 1890, the railway established a depot on the west side of the river; soon after the Saskatoon settlement split off into two separate villages. The west side was incorporated as the Village of Saskatoon in 1901 and the east side of the river changed its name to Nutana. The name Nutana, many say, is a result of reversing the spelling of Saskatoon.

A third settlement, Riversdale Village, located just west of the railway tracks, was incorporated on January 16, 1905 after people residing across the tracks from of the Village of Saskatoon petitioned the Commissioner of Public Works to have the area incorporated.

In 1906, with the promise of a Traffic Bridge, the Village of Saskatoon amalgamated with the Villages of Nutana and Riversdale to become what is now known to be the City of Saskatoon. Soon after Saskatoon became the fastest growing city in the west.

In Riversdale, many of the buildings built during the Saskatoon’s Boom period of 1900-1912 remain, adding unique character to today’s main business and shopping district.

The multi-cultural quality of Riversdale was established early; during the boom, immigrants of British, Ukrainian, German, and Chinese decent settled in the Village of Riversdale. Today, as in the past, Riversdale is host to a mosaic of cultures.

There are some wonderful old pictures of Riversdale posted on the website where I found this historical information - visit the site below to get some taste of what the community must have been like during the early years when the family had just arrived from Scotland.

http://www.riversdale.ca/walkingtours.php