What You Didn't Know About Craik, Saskatchewan

Subscribe: Help preserve our history! Craik, Saskatchewan In the late 1880s, the stretch of prairie between Regina and Prince Albert was described as "dreary, depressing, and forbidding." To the government in Ottawa, it was a problem to be solved. To investors, it was a liability. So, how did a "worthless" blackened landscape become one of the most vital industrial stops on the line? In this investigative look at Craik, Saskatchewan, we dig into the untold history of the West... proven by archival maps and on-site documentation. From the "massive land buying orgy" of 1902 to the grueling 24-hour shifts at the region's only coal dock, this is the story of a town that shouldn't have existed, built by a railroad that almost failed. In this episode: The QLL&S Years: Why the first decade of the railroad was a "bridge to nowhere." The Great Land Orgy: How a luxury excursion train convinced the world the prairie was "fairly fit for settlement." Industrial Grit: Inside the coal docks and the 40,000-gallon water towers that kept the steam age alive. The Human Element: From mail sorted in boxes on the platform to the curious story of Harry Barnett and the locomotive tender. #Craik #Saskatchewan #CanadianHistory #PrairieHistory #RailwayHistory #Documentary #InvestigativeHistory #M68TV #QLLS #SteamEngines #SettlerHistory 0:00- The Bridge To Nowhere 2:40 - The Great Land Orgy 6:22 - A Community Takes Root 8:40 The Lifeline - Water & Coal 14:54 Conclusion: A Legacy In The Soil