History of Val Marie
As Excerpted from “Trails Along the Whitemud”

-Early Ranchers
Before the homestead days Val Marie district was strictly a ranching area.  Several companies owned ranches and had thousands of head of cattle in the hills and valleys of this region.  The Turkey Track, a company from Texas drove in cattle over the Chisholm Trail in 1900.  Those were the days of the Texas Long Horns.  Their headquarters were in Vangaurd.  Their ranch extended from the camp to Wood Mountain.  They ran from 20,000 – 30,000 head of cattle on the open range. 

-The Settlers Came
The first pioneers who came here had to follow winding prairie trails across the hills for miles upon miles; for in 1910 the nearest railway was Swift Current.  Many of the settlers who came, cam e with horses or oxen hitched to a wagon bearing all their possessions, had to camp overnight on the open prairie. Stopping places where very few, if any.  The endurance of these pioneers knew no bounds, as for example those who walked all the way from Swift Current looking for a suitable homestead.

The pioneers of Val Marie area came from Europe, eastern Canada and the United States.  They came because there were opportunities.  Homesteads were given and the adjoining quarter section could be bought for $400 with ten years to pay.  Although the get rich quick might have been bait to come to Saskatchewan, it was not realized.  Most of the pioneers did get rich, rich in experience. 

They spent many happy hours in spite of hardships where each day was packed with thrilling adventures that are never forgotten, but are relived now and again as a pioneer tale.

-Canadian Pacific Railway
George Spence, an ambitious homesteader who settled south of Val Marie, a few miles from the international border, deserves a lot of credit for his contribution in the development of this area.  Besides serving two terms as an MLA, he held membership in the International Joint Commission and other high posts of responsibility.  He saw that the quickest was for Val Marie to have a train service would be for the C.P.R. to build its line from the west.  He organized meeting, talked to the farmers, urged them to untie in asking for immediate train service.  He persuaded government leaders and CPR officials of this necessity.

Finally in June 1924 the construction of the railway from Climax to Val Marie was begun and soon the area of Val Marie was linked with the rest of the country, and this was the birth of our little Village of Val Marie.