St. Laurent de Grandin is an area of Métis settlement along the South Saskatchewan River. It is just east of Duck Lake, and at present is the site of the St. Laurent Ferry, as well as the Roman Catholic Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.[1] The shrine is a popular destination for Catholics in central Saskatchewan, and was historically associated with the Métis and Cree people of the area.[2] St. Laurent was part of the Southbranch Settlement and is found downstream from Batoche. It is also a short distance upstream from St. Louis. It is situated in Aspen parkland roughly near the edge of the Nisbet Provincial Forest. Although never a town, St. Laurent was an important area of settlement and of spiritual significance in the area during the late 19th century. St. Laurent's picturesque scenery continues to attract tourists to the shrine along the Louis Riel Trail today.
History
editSt. Laurent, the oldest, was originally the wintering home of Métis buffalo hunters (hivernants). A mission was established in 1873 by Father André O.M.I. after Métis settlers arrived in the area from Manitoba in the 1860s and 1870s. It had a church, a residential school and a convent. By 1888 St. Laurent also had a post office, a telegraph office and a store.[3] Some of the men killed at the Battle of Duck Lake during the 1885 North-West Rebellion are buried in the cemetery.[4] The mission closed in 1894.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Saskatchewan's Marian Shrines". Retrieved January 2, 2013.
- ^ "St. Laurent Shrine". Retrieved January 1, 2013.
- ^ Henry Thomas McPhillips (1888), McPhillips' alphabetical and business directory of the district of Saskatchewan, N.W.T.: Together with brief historical sketches of Prince Albert, Battleford and the other settlements in the district, 1888 (pages 93-97), Prince Albert, NWT: Henry Thomas McPhillips
- ^ "Heroes of the 1885 Northwest Resistance. Summary of those Killed". Barkwell, Lawrence J. Louis Riel Institute. 2010. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
- ^ "Canada's Historic Places (St. Laurent Shrine)". Retrieved January 1, 2013.
External links
edit- Shrine St. Laurent: Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine - St. Laurent de Grandin
- Main Street Saskatchewan page on St. Laurent de Grandin
- Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan article on French Settlements in Saskatchewan with some discussion of St. Laurent de Grandin
- Saint-Laurent Pilgrimage in Saskatchewan at the Encyclopedia of French Cultural Heritage in North America