Wolseley sits in southeast Saskatchewan, about 100 kilometres east of Regina on the Trans-Canada Highway. Its early days left a number of buildings that still stand. In 1883, E. A. Banbury, a co-founder of Beaver Lumber, opened the company's first store in Wolseley, and that building now has Heritage status. Banbury's own home, built in 1905, was later moved to the west end of town to make room for the expansion of Lakeside Care Home in the 1980s, and today it serves as a bed and breakfast.
The Provincial Court House went up in 1893 and is the oldest surviving courthouse in Saskatchewan. The Town Hall and Opera House followed in 1906 and is still used for community events. Two private homes are on the Canadian List of Historic Places: the Perley Residence on Front Street, where the town's first miller and A. A. Perley were among those who lived, and the home of first mayor R. A. Magee, next to the Town Hall.
Fairly Lake, the town's best-known feature, came about in 1902 when the Canadian Pacific Railway dammed Aldair Creek to supply water for its steam engines. It gave Wolseley its nickname, the Town By The Lake. The swinging bridge has been part of the town since 1905, and in 2000 Harrowsmith Country Life named Wolseley one of Canada's prettiest, most historic towns. Today it has an active arts community and one of the few drive-in theatres left in the province.
Written from Wikipedia’s article “Wolseley, Saskatchewan” (CC BY-SA 4.0), and shared under the same licence.