Lafleche is a small town in southwest Saskatchewan, Canada in the Rural Municipality of Wood River No. 74. The community is located at the intersection of Highway 13 and Highway 58. It is 20 km south of Gravelbourg and 45 km west of Assiniboia. It is situated on the south bank of Lafleche Creek, which is a tributary of Wood River. Thomson Lake Regional Park is located 10 minutes north of town.
History
The village of Buffalo Head started to form one and a half miles east of the present townsite with the arrival of settlers in 1905. The name was changed to Lafleche in honour of Louis-François Richer Laflèche.
In 1910, a school district was formed and a school was built at the corner of four townships on a quarter of land owned by Mr. Belisle.
In March 1912, there was already a hamlet set on a piece of land owned by F. X. Brunelle. There was a bank, two stores and blacksmith shops.
In 1912, the railway was built to Expanse, then in the fall as far as Assiniboia. When the Canadian Pacific Railway line came through in 1913 lots were divided and businesses were quickly established. Since the rail line did not pass through the hamlet, the houses of the hamlet were moved to the new site on the southeast quarter of Section 2, Township 9, Range 5, and soon another village with spacious streets and avenues sprung up and developed rapidly.
By 1913 there was the following businesses, Square Deal Store, Harness, Palace Livery, Beaver Lumber, Coal, Lafleche Cafe, Murphy's Pool Hall, Metropole Hotel, The Western Trading Co., Lafleche Meat Market, City Dray, City Garage, City Restaurant and Bakery, Glenholm Farm, Chopping, The Lafleche Blacksmith. Growth was so rapid that Lafleche was incorporated as a village in 1913. Telegraph service was established in Lafleche on December 1, 1913. By 1914 the village was composed of twelve blocks.
In 1915, many new businesses opened up, Cockshutt Plow Company, a jewelry store, Wyman and Ball (clothing store), a drug store, three lumber yards, the Lafleche-Meleval Farmers Elevators, Purity Oil, Kennedy Grain, a livery and feed barn, Real Estate and Loan Office. In 1916 a millinery was opened up which made fur hats to order. Two other private millinery stores were opened, one which became a regular was called Ladies Ready-to-Wear.
In 1919 water had to be hauled to town from the Rosy farm, and professional nursing services were available by Nurse Noble. In 1921 all school children were inoculated for typhoid fever.
thumb|Lafleche Main Street
In 1922, it was the year of the Big Bank Robbery. On May 24, thieves broke into the Bank of Hocheloga, blowing the safe but were unsuccessful in opening it. Constable Pete Whitelaw was shot in the thigh while trying to apprehend the culprits. As a result, he spent two months in a Moose Jaw hospital. In September robbers once again visited the village. Telephone wires were cut and shots were fired at Mrs. Vick (telephone operator), Chas. Chan and Alex Stewart. No money was taken and the robbers fled by car.
In 1927, trees were planted on both sides of Main Street. A fire brigade was organized, with Nap Deuast as fire chief. Cement sidewalks were built in September of that year. Rest Rooms were opened for women also at this time.
In 1927 or 1928 a Men's Ready-to-Wear store was opened by Lawrence Lazure, next to the Globe Theatre. His office was shared by Mr. A Tissot, who was Lafleche's first photographer. The Globe Theatre began to show "sound" movies. This theatre was operational till about 1942 by Mr. Passmore but he sold it to Mr. E. Flynn. The theatre building is presently the Club 50. Before 1927, the people would watch silent movies in the basement of what is now the Legion Hall.
In August 1928, the Shaunavon Electric Company furnished electric lights and current to the village of Lafleche. By November 1929, street lights outlined Main Street.
The thirties saw hard times in the community of Lafleche. People worked for twenty cents an hour and team and man for sixty cents an hour. Rent was three to five dollars a month. Despite the drought, Lafleche was to become a village of cleanliness and beauty. Boulevards were laid out on street adjacent to Main Street and trees were planted.
In 1937 after eight consecutive crop failures, the once prosperous Lafleche district was near rock bottom. In dire need of credit, farmers and small businessmen found the bank and other financial institutions had no confidence in their ability to repay. Within a year the people of Lafleche launched the first rural community credit union in the province. Lafleche Credit Union received its charter on April 19, 1938.
Lafleche survived the thirties and the early war years of the forties. In 1943, Dr. Belcourt was appointed the first Municipal doctor, and Lafleche took over the operation of a hospital in 1944, establishing a hospital district in 1945.
In 1947 Saskatchewan Power signed an agreement with Lafleche to supply electrical energy.
Many of the buildings were built of lumber and with unsafe heating furnaces, many fires were reported. Lafleche did not have very good fire preventive measures, with only two teams of horses and two water tanks. Many of the first buildings were destroyed by fires and most of the livery and feed barns were burned. In 1948 a fire destroyed a third of the buildings on the east side of Main Street which led to the purchase of a fire truck and equipment and a siren alarm.
The Village of Lafleche became a town in 1953 with C.P. Dewulf as the first mayor.
In 1954 vapour lights were installed by Saskatchewan Power Corporation and in 1956 the town received water and sewer service. The sewer main construction began in 1957 and in June, 1958 the Town Water and Sewer Plant was officially opened.
In 1960 a piece of land was bought for the purpose of a landing strip for light airplanes. In 1961 Saskatchewan Government Telephone constructed a new dial office and telephone. Water meters were installed in residences and business places. Automatic telephones came in operation on July 5, 1962.
In November, 1961 a curling rink with three sheets of ice came into operation.
As a tribute to Saskatchewan's 60th anniversary the town of Lafleche built self-contained housing units for senior citizens. The Wood River Centennial Home was opened on July 8, 1967.
In 1969 the streets were paved in Lafleche. 1971 was the Homecoming Celebration. 1973 saw the opening of a new skating rink. On October 24, 1977, the Wheatland Lodge was opened as an eighteen suite, senior citizen low rental housing building.
Lafleche celebrated its Centennial in 2013.
Demographics
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Lafleche had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Religion
The First Presbyterian Church was the first church in the community with F. W. Therrien (a lay minister) conducting the first services in 1913.
Construction of the Roman Catholic church was also begun in 1913 with Father Emile Dubois arriving in 1914. He actively helped pioneers establish themselves in the vicinity and within five years the population increased from 300 to 600. In 1915 the Sisters of the Holy Cross arrived and in the winter of 1916 and 1917 a convent with a school for boys and girls was completed. Enrolment included 40 students boarders and local day students. Five years later student enrolment had climbed to 140. In 1922 a new larger brick faced church with a gothic steeple was built. St. Radegonde Roman Catholic Church is now a listed heritage property. The old church became the Legion Hall.
Mail service
From 1909 until the railway came, mail was delivered to Lafleche by horse and buggy or sleigh from different points on the main line. However, once the railway was built, mail came regularly. Mail was sorted on the train as it went along. Mail was taken aboard and dropped off at each stop all across Canada. Tom Murphy was the first postman in Lafleche, and held the position until July 26, 1912. Mr. Edmond Bilodeau became postmaster in 1927, a held the position for 27 years. He retired on April 25, 1955. On July 31, 1958, the train service was discontinued, and mail trucks took over the business of mail service to Lafleche and surrounding towns.
Utilities
In 1922, a power plant was operated by Zotique Raiche to operate lights in the Village of Lafleche. It was called the Lafleche Light Company and was powered by a 50 H.P. engine. It operated from dark until eleven o'clock, Monday and Tuesday mornings and also by special arrangements for dances. The first street lights were installed in 1923. In 1933, only two street lights were left in operation due to the depression. In September, 1936, a request for more street lights was requested by Lafleche. The total cost of running eight lights was $15.00 per month. In 1947, it was bought out by Saskatchewan Power Commission. In 1949 the voltage of the town was increased from 2,300 volts to 4,600 volts.