Marshall

Marshall

Marshall, Sask, incorporated as a village in 1914 and as a town in 2006, population 533 (2011c), 608 (2006c). The Town of Marshall is located on the Canadian National Railway line and the Yellowhead Highway between LLOYDMINSTER and NORTH BATTLEFORD, in the Rural Municipality of WILTON.

The area was first settled in 1903 by members of the BARR COLONY, an unusual experiment in British colonization led by the Reverend Isaac Barr and later Dr. Lloyd (after whom Lloydminster is named). Barr convinced over 2000 British colonists, most with no experience as farmers, that their destiny lay in building farms in an unsettled block of land in the District of Saskatchewan. The colony scheme was a failure, but many Barr colonists developed a successful agricultural district and several enduring settlements, including Marshall.

The first settlement in the Marshall area was known as Stringer, but when the CANADIAN NORTHERN RAILWAY line passed a couple of kilometres away from the present community in 1905, the village moved and was renamed Marshall. The reason for this renaming is not known. In addition to agriculture, Marshall is located close to the heavy oil fields around Lloydminster which also provide employment for area residents.