Our History
"and thus Torquay got it's name."
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To quote a section of “Our Prairie Heritage Cambria 1902-1977” written by Irene Halvorson:
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"When the C.P.R. began to press westward communities sprang up along the branch lines.
In this area the railroad was located in 1909, was surveyed in 1911, and graded in 1912. Bill Brownhill worked on this grade as a boy, driving a team of horses. The steel was laid in 1913, and the first train to run on the line was on Sept.24, 1913. This branch was built out from Estevan and was called the Estevan and Forward Branch. In 1912 Wesley Shier sold his homestead to the C.P.R. for a townsite for $2,400 and a hamlet came into being. Since the railroad locomotives needed a good supply of water and this townsite had an abundant supply, this led a railroad superintendant’s wife to suggest that the settlement take its name from an English town, Torquay, which is also located beside a good supply of water, namely the English Channel, and thus Torquay got its name."
A Growing Community
Torquay grew from a hamlet to a village of approximately 300 residents, and held their first meeting as the Village of Torquay on January 9, 1924. At that time the Administrator (known as the secretary-treasurer) was K. H. Eika. Councilors were Ludvig Carlson (overseer), John Bergum, and Pete LeRossignol. Since then the Village has increased the number of Councilors from 3 to 5 where it remains today.
Today the Village of Torquay has a population of 255 (according to the 2016 census) and offers a water treatment plant, sewer lagoon system, fire department, curb side garbage, and recycle bins as services to our residents.
Our community center is also thriving and we now boast a great hockey program including an initiation, novice, and rec team.
Some interesting tidbits:
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Wooden sidewalks were being constructed and installed around 1926, and remained until around 1959 when concrete sidewalks started to replace their wooden counterparts.
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In 1934 a street work program was undertaken, as well a tree planting program for the Village Park was started.
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Street lights first appeared in 1946, expansion of water and sewer occurred in 1964, natural gas was brought in around 1972.