The Battlefords : A History

Arlean McPherson’s history of the Battlefords began as a University of Saskatchewan Master’s thesis and was later expanded for publication. The volume closely traverses settlement and development in both Battleford and North Battleford from Battleford’s incorporation as a town site through its elevation to capital of the North-West in 1876 to civic expansion in both centres the early 1900s. To this historical core McPherson adds several chapters covering changes in both centres from 1914 to 1967, as well as an introductory discussion of the local fur trade and Indigenous-settler relations in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Throughout, she traces the impact of social and economic shifts on both Battleford and North Battleford, emphasizing differences between the two centres despite their geographic proximity. Excerpts from period documents, citations, and an index add an academic framework to McPherson’s work.