Manitou Beach (2021 population 364) is a resort village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 11. It is on the shores of Little Manitou Lake in the Rural Municipality of Morris No. 312. It is north of Watrous and approximately east of Saskatoon.
The village is known for its saltwater lake, the historic dance venue Danceland, and thriving cultural, art, and tourism scene.
History
Manitou Beach incorporated as a resort village on August 11, 1919.
The Beach attracted many tourists at the beginning of the 20th century. The Beach is nestled in a glacier-scooped valley on Highway 365, three miles north of Watrous, Saskatchewan.
The east and west beaches always seemed to be competing with each other and became rivals. Some would say this interfered with the growth of Manitou Beach but may also have spurred it on. In the 1920s and 30s, both sides of the beach were busy with the east beach being more popular.
In the 1920s and ’30s Manitou Beach was alive. Thousands came to enjoy the mineral waters. It was the most popular summer resort on the prairies, offering an alternative, and became a rival for Banff Hot Springs.
People came by rail when Watrous became a division point of the Canadian National Railway. Excursion trains arrived from the four main cities. The tourists would ride the train to Watrous and then take a shuttle taxi to the resort. Also, thousands of automobiles would be parked in fields on weekends. The beach population would grow from 200 to 15,000 during the summer months.
The bustling resort had lots to offer any vacationer: 3 large dance halls, 2 large enclosed mineral hot bath houses, massage parlours, numerous beach stores and restaurants/cafes, several boarding houses, hotels and motels, many cottages, 2 drug stores, 3 grocery stores, 2 service stations, boat rentals, a barber shop, 4 ice-cream parlours, a Y.W.C.A. building, a moving picture show, and real estate offices. And yes….. bootleggers and a brothel.
In the 1930s, Saskatchewan was hit hard with drought, grasshoppers and poor wheat prices. Temperatures reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit. When the depression hit, crowds stopped coming. Those that did come, didn’t have much money to spend. They just wanted a cool dip in the water because the weather was hot and dry.
By the 1940s the resort was in deep trouble. Mysterious fires happened. Clinics lost their patients. Many buildings were torn down because they couldn’t be maintained anymore. And the lake was receding. The change in travel habits of North American people also caused the resort to decline. Airplanes were invented and therefore long distance travel was no longer a hardship. Tourists were drawn to the warmer coastal or tropical resorts. Recreational vehicles became popular. Holiday travel went on wheels.
Manitou Beach and its activities remained at a lower level for years awaiting rejuvenation in the late 1980s and 90s.
Indigenous Significance
To First Nations people in this region, Little Manitou is the lake of healing waters. Bill Strongarm, committee member and residential school support worker with TATC, explains that Manitou, in Cree means “Great Spirits or the Creator” while Sakahīcan means “lake.” He says the lake was called Manitou Sakahīcan because it was a place where First Nations people gathered to heal people affected with various skin diseases and other sicknesses.
The Legend of the Spirit of Manitou
Long before European settlers emigrated to Canada and the western territories, Saskatchewan was designated as part of the Great Plains of western Canada. A variety of Canadian First Nations tribes traveled throughout the land, utilizing the available resources for their survival while still respecting the land from which it came.
The arrival of the European settlers impacted the tribes in a variety of ways. One of the most devastating effects settlers had upon the First Nations people was the introduction of foreign diseases such as smallpox. The Cree people who populated the land area known as Saskatchewan were exposed to smallpox and suffered devastating losses. Traditional medicines and remedies proved ineffective against this new disease.
According to legend, some young men fell ill during their tribe’s move. Fortunately, the tribe’s choice of camp was in the vicinity of what is now known as Little Manitou Lake.