North Portal
North Portal, Saskatchewan, Canada
Nov 16, 1903- Village Status given to North Portal, Assiniboia.
Located in all of Section 1, Township 1, Range 5, W2
1893 Mr. L. A. Hamilton, CPR Land Commisioner claimed this was going to be called North Sterling on the Canadian side and South Sterling on the American side.
now of course it is North Portal SK, and Portal ND
Dec 14, 1903 they were to elect their First Overseer. Horace Prairie of North Portal, was appointed returning officer to run the election.
Feb 8, 1904 they were to hold another election for the same position. Thomas McKenzie of North Portal, was elected Returning Officer
Town Status
Located at SE Section 1, Township 1, Range 5, W2
Latitude- 49º 0' 23“ N
Longitude- 102º 33' 18” W
On the CPR “Soo” line
Altitude 1951 ft
Located in Rural Municipality of Coalfields #4
Feb 23, 1904, William Arthur Neal was appointed Justice of the Peace fro North Portal.
Part of My Dad's 1927 Map of this area.
Elevator, Post Office, Telegraph Office, and Gas Station in 1927
Grain Elevator History
Sept 1903 - Portal had one Grain Elevator
Northern Elevator Co.- 25,000 bushel capacity
Hotel History
2 Hotels:
Union Hotel
Grandview Hotel
Mr. L. E. Haley of Bengough bought the Grandview hotel
from Louis Kill (see genealogy below) for $75,000 Dec 1914
Ken Friedt's Negative No 56, North Portal Station Sept. 1910
See more of these old pictures on the Outlook, Moose Jaw, and Roche Percee Pages
This is one of the few that is a double exposure, but the station can be seen
I think the other exposure is a couple guys at the Roche Percee rock formation.
note- original negatives donated by Ken to the SK Archives, after he sent them for my use.
Post Office History
North Portal
S0C 1W0
Federal Electoral District: Moose Mountain (SK)
Office Opened Aug 1, 1894
Section 1, Township 1, Range 5, W2
Postmaster Information:
| Name of Postmaster | Date of Birth | Date of Appointment | Date of Vacancy | Cause of Vacancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willard Hargrave Dorsey (see below) | 1894-08-01 | 1897-06-10 | Resignation | |
| J. A. Wood | 1897-09-01 | 1901-07-31 | Resignation | |
| Miss Lucy M. Harris (see below) | 1902-01-01 | 1930-04-06 | Death | |
| Miss Eva May Harris (see below) | Jan 10, 1884 | 1930-06-16 | 1944-09-29 | Resignation |
| Mrs. Elizabeth Ann MacKenzie | Mar 19, 1898 | 1944-11-01 | Acting | |
| “ | 1946-09-19 | 1965-03-30 | Retirement | |
| Robert Munro Dunbar | 1965-03-31 | Jan 3, 1967 | Death | |
| N. I. Barker | 1967-01-04 | Acting | ||
| Mrs. Margaret Florence MacKenzie | 1967-02-22 | 1977-03-16 | Resignation | |
| Mrs. Elinor MacKenzie | 1977-03-16 | Temporary | ||
| Mrs. Florence MacKenzie | 1977-03-16 | |||
| Mrs. Elinor MacKenzie | 1977-03-23 | Resignation | ||
| Mrs. D. J. Fuchs | 1982-05-04 | Acting | ||
| ” | 1982-05-06 |
Additional Information:
Grade 2
PO 2325-1
Private
Semi-staff Gr. 31 - 1949-04-01
Post Office Information Disclaimer:
This reproduction is NOT represented as an official version of the materials reproduced,
nor as having been made in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of the National Archives of Canada.
The source of this material is the National Archives of Canada
Postmaster Genealogy and Bios
First Postmaster- Willard Hargrave Dorsey
b- June 29, 1870 in ON
d-
wife- Ida Kate Dorsey, nee Fogg
b- Sept 10, 1872 in ON
d-
Katherine “Kate” Dorsey
b- Aug 29, 1894 in Assa, NWT
d-
Annie “Elsie” Dorsey
b- Dec 12, 1897 in Assa, NWT
d-
Willard “Irving” Dorsey
May 8, 1905 in North Portal, SK
d-
a Miss C. K. Dorsey was Principal of the Village High School
from ca1917 to at least 1923
July 8, 1923 she was given a $20 gold piece
on the lawn of Rev. S. A. Kennedy.
Rev. Kennedy, Dr. R. M. Parker and C. P. Wright gave speeches.
possibly Kate?
Eva May Harris
b- Jan 10, 1884 in Brandon Hills, RM of Cornwallis, MB,
d- End of Oct, 1983, age 99
Funeral Nov 2, 1983 at St. Paul's United Church in Estevan
buried in North Portal Cemetery.
Attended school in Estevan and Regina
worked as a clerk in stores in Estevan and North Portal.
Retired as Post Mistress in 1944.
Lived in Vancouver and Victoria for 10 years.
returned to North Portal, ran a china gift shop.
then retired to Esterhazy.
After 15 years there, returned to Estevan.
She was the oldest guest at the 1979, 100th Anniv. of Brandon Hills.
She was Village Queen of North Portal in 1979.
father- Oliver Harris
b- May 27, 1837 in Clawton, Holsworthy reg dist., Devonshire, England
d- Sept 9, 1922 at his home at North Portal, age 65
1861, 1871 and 1881 census, living in Fullarton, ON
Resident of North Portal for 30 yrs, before he died.
Resident of Western Canada for 40 years before he died.
Immigrated to Canada when he was 12 years old.
first settled in Mitchell, Perth Co., ON
came west to Brandon in 1882.
stayed there for 10 years,
then homesteaded on a farm near North Portal
where he farmed until 1905.
Moved into the village after that.
Oliver's father- Samuel Harris, mother- Mary
mother- Ann Harris nee Francis
b- Feb 18, 1843 in England
d- ?
buried in North Portal Cemetery
Oliver and Ann had 1 son and 6 daughters:
son- William Frederick “Fred” Harris,
b- 1868
d- 1950
buried in North Portal Cemetery
He lived in North Portal in 1930.
he married Georgina Roddick (1872-1942)
daughter- Ida Harris
b- July 5, 1875 in Fullarton ON
d- ?
buried in North Portal Cemetery
married a Mr. Johnston
daughter- Fannie Lorretta Harris (alt Fanny)(alt Loretta)
b- Apr 26, 1878 in Fullarton, ON
d- ?
buried in North Portal Cemetery
married James Franklin Stringer (1870-1938)
daughter- Ella Maggie Harris
b- July 10, 1886 in Brandon MB
d- Sept 16, 1956 in Vancouver BC, age 70
she married Clement LLewellyn “Clem” Davies
they lived in Victoria BC
daughter- Lily Jane Hill, (Lillie?)
b- Mar 18, 1873, in Mitchell, ON in death record
(Fullarton ON in birth record)
d- June 17, 1945 in Victoria BC, age 72
She married John Hill, lived in Victoria BC
daughter- Lucy Matilda Harris,
b- ca 1867, at Mitchell, Perth Co, ON
d- Apr 7, 1930, at home in North Portal, age 63
buried in North Portal Cemetery
Living at home in North Portal, in 1922
daughter- Lottie Harris
b- ?
d- Apr 1926, Meadow lake SK
Mrs. Lottie Waddington,
in North Portal district in 1922
Genealogy of names above (other than Post Office names)
Louis Kill
b- Apr 1857 in Switz hein Germany Thwitzheim? Germany
immigrated in 1867 to NY USA
Oct 1905 left Sandstone MN to Canada
1911 he owned the hotel in Alameda SK
1916 still shown as owner of a hotel in North Portal
wife- Annie Kill b- Aug 1861 in USA immigrated in 1867
daughter- Annie Kill b- Sept 1885 in USA immigrated in 1900
son- Edward Kill b- Nov 1887 in USA immigrated in 1900 Bartender in Alameda Hotel in 1911, age 23
son- Vincent Kill b- Mar 1896 in USA immigrated in 1900
son- Sylvester Kill b- Mar 1898 in USA immigrated in 1900
Rural Schools near North Portal
External Links
Note- Not my sites
Links may or may not work in the future.
There was a history book online on the Estevan Library site, but as of today it isn't working anymore.
Note- I don't have a copy of the History book.
North Portal Customs Office
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/do-rb/offices-bureaux/604-eng.html
Portal ND USA
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ndburke/burke2.htm
Some history overlaps into Canada
North Portal Cemetery
SE Section 12, Township 1, Range 5, W2
in RM of Coalfields
http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cansacem/north_portal.html
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