Katepwa (2016 population: ) is a resort village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 6. It is on the eastern and southern shores of Katepwa Lake in the Rural Municipality of Abernethy No. 186. The name Katepwa likely comes from the Cree word Kahtapwao meaning "What is calling?" The name was given to the last in the chain of four lakes, Katepwa Lake. Legend has it that spirits inhabited the shores of the lake and First Nation people would hear voices on the lake.
The Resort Village of the District of Katepwa was incorporated on July 24, 2004. Its incorporation was the result of the amalgamation of three separate resort villages – Katepwa Beach, Katepwa South and Sandy Beach. Katepwa Beach and Katepwa South originally incorporated as a resort villages on August 1, 1957 and January 1, 1990 respectively.
History
The Qu'Appelle Valley was formed approximately 14,000 years ago as retreating glaciers and their meltwater sculpted the landscape. The valley was further changed by erosion and sediment. This sediment is also responsible for forming what was once one long lake into the four Fishing Lakes of Pasqua Lake, Echo Lake, Mission Lake, and Katepwa Lake. First Nations could have been living in this area as early as eleven thousand years ago, after the glacier retreated.
When white settlers reached the area, Assiniboine and Cree were the two most prominent groups living there. Predating the settlers were missions established by Presbyterians, Anglicans, and Methodists. In 1864, Fort Qu'Appelle was established as a Hudson Bay Trading Post, and the following year, Bishop Tache, the Bishop of St. Boniface opened a mission at St. Florent, (present day Lebret). Following the first Riel rebellion in Manitoba in 1870, Métis were forced to leave the new province and moved into the valley. The first settlers, among them John Louder, began farming in the area soon after. Churches and schools were well established by 1890.
Settlement
In 1898, Arthur Osment moved his brick factory from Indian Head to Lebret, but it was not successful, and sold to Clem Peltier who moved it to the end of the lake. The factory was closed by 1908 due to competition.
Soon, activities began happening on the lake, such as picnics, boating, and fishing. A summer resort was soon added to the lake. Skating became a popular winter pastime, as well as ice fishing. A type of net called a jigger which would be placed through a hole in the ice and checked for fish every two days or so. Some commercial fishing took place on Katepwa Lake in the early 1970s.
Katepwa Beach Syndicate
By 1914, the Katepwa Beach Syndicate was formed, subdividing the land where the village of Katepwa now stands The syndicate set up laws concerning the sale of property and sanitation in the townsite. Another subdivision, Who Calls Beach, was surveyed in 1911, followed by Lake View Beach in 1913, Idylwyld in 1919, and Como Park in 1921 (incorporated with Sandy Beach in 1980). Dundurn Park predates the syndicate and the other subdivisions.
Soon after the syndicate was formed, the summer resort grew to include the hotel, dining room, tea room that also served as a sort of general store, a dance hall, a boat rental, and an 18-hole golf course. The hotel was operated by the Grant family until 1934. In 1940, Jack Obleman and Wally Wirth took over the Katepwa Hotel when the previous owner, Mr. Arlet, died after running the Hotel for a year. Mr. Obleman ran the hotel while Mr. Wirth went overseas in World War II, and Mr. Wirth and his wife, Lillian, ran the Hotel until 1955, at which point they sold it to Allan Robinson from Indian Head. The hotel burned down in May 1977 and was quickly rebuilt, opening July 1 that same year.
In 1912, Adelaide Hemstreet opened the Sunset Inn Tea Room. In 1913 she built a number of simply furnished cabins which she rented to guests. She expanded the land in 1914 and built a kitchen and screened-in veranda. Guests were fed in the tea room, which became exclusive and gave the Inn a very good reputation. Al Chaffee bought the Sunset Inn in 1939 and added a confectionery store and improved the kitchen. He added electric lights to the cabins, the store, the inn, and the dining room, as well as a telephone.