Elbow

Elbow

 Elbow, Sask, incorporated as a village in 1909, population 314 (2011c), 294 (2006c). The Village of Elbow is situated midway between SASKATOON and MOOSE JAW. It received its name because of a configuration of the South Saskatchewan River, on which it sits. While the village of Elbow dates only from the early years of this century, the general location has been so designated for more than 100 years. The first known use of the term "elbow" is found in the journal of John Macdonald of Garth, a fur trader of the North West Company, who wrote, "There is an elbow in the river parallel to that of the north branch, a most beautiful place."

The first settlers appear to have been ranchers. By 1903 settlers were taking up homesteads near Elbow, and by the end of the decade lands in the elbow were extensively occupied. The CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY, which arrived in 1908, has accounted for the continued existence of the village.

The level of activity in the community increased with the long-anticipated South Saskatchewan River Dam Project in 1958. The completion of GARDINER DAM and Qu'Appelle Dam a decade later created LAKE DIEFENBAKER, which provides irrigation and recreation in the area, making Elbow a popular tourist destination.