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Monuments and Memorials:
United Empire Loyalists
Located on the north shore of the lake,
near Legislative Drive.
Erected in October 2004.
Two plaques installed on June 02, 2005, the third on June 19, 2014.
(Click on the picture for larger view)
(Unless otherwise indicated, photos by Don of www.WascanaPark.com)
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This cairn is built of fieldstones gathered from
Saskatchewan Homesteads and yards of
decendants of United Empire Loyalists who
settled here prior to and shortly after 1905,
included is one stone from Eastern Ontario
where many of the Loyalists settleed after 1783.
The base stone and cap-stone of this cairn
are of Tyndall limestone which is what the
legislative building is constructed.
These fieldstones, which came from all corners of Saskatchewan, are as diverse and unique as were the lives of those Loyalist descendants. Those people left comfortable homes and established lifestyles in Eastern Canada to carve out a new life in what is now our province. Like their Loyalist ancestors before them, their names and stories are not fully known. Those families that today are aware of their background are equally aware of the sacrifices made by their forebears. Both the Loyalists and their descendants worked to create what we now take for granted. This pride in our past is what prompted those who built this cairn in this our centennial year. It is to be hoped it will serve as a reminder to the coming generations of the many contributions made by the Loyalists and their descendants to Canada and our province. Let us remember how the Loyalist presence dramatically influenced how our country and how our province has evolved. The common threads of loyalty and parliamentary government was and still are the fabric of our society. The foundation they built has served us well. God Save the Queen! "When we build, let us think we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone. Let it be such work as our descendants will thank us for; and let us us think as we lay stone on stone , that a time is to come when those stories will be held sacred because our hands have touched them, and men will say, as they look upon the labour and wrought substance, "See! This our fathers did for us."" John Ruskin Erected 2005 by the
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The American Revolution split the population of the Thirteen Colonies
into two main groups - the Patriots and the Loyalists. The Treaty of
Separation of 1783 ended the eight years of civil war. A third of the
colonists were granted no rights in the new country, the United States
of America. They were forced from their homes and resettled in British
held territory to the north. Those that travelled overland were settled
around Niagara or along the St. Lawrence River towards Lake Ontario.
Those that were evacuated from the City of New York relocated in
Quebec and in the Maritime provinces. They were of British, French,
German, Dutch, Jewish, Mohawk and Black Loyalist background. They came
from all walks of life. All had a firm belief in parliamentary rule of
law and a strong attachment to the monarchy.
Many Loyalists and their sons were involved in the fur trade with the Hudson's Bay Company and the North West Company. Explorers such as Simon Fraser and Sir Alexander MacKenzie were sons of Loyalists. The Loyalists and their sons and daughters rallied to defend their new homeland during the War of 1812. Their descendants have served, often with distinction, in subsequent World Wars. Loyalist descendants joined the North West Mounted Police and later the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to bring law and order to the territories and western provinces. Their descendants were among the first to settle in what became the province of Saskatchewan. Most filed on homesteads. Others used their talents and skills in the villages and cities that grew to serve their communities. In 1932, the Saskatchewan Branch was organized in Regina. The present branch was founded in 1984. Today one in six Canadians can trace to a Loyalist ancestor. Erected 2005 by the
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2014, being the Centennial of the creation of the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada, meant a re-examination of the Association's purpose and principles. The result was renewed interest and pride by those Canadians who trace their ancestry to that group, who by choosing not to rebel against Great Britain, impacted how Canada evolved. The stories the Loyalists related about events prior to and immediately after 1783 were all but lost as they struggled to rebuild their shattered lives in what was then Quebec and Nova Scotia. Groups of Loyalist descendants recognized the impact their ancestors' arrival had on what remained of British North America. In 1884, Centennial celebrations of the Loyalists' arrival were held in the Maritimes and Ontario. The United Empire Loyalists' Association of Ontario was incorporated in 1887. The Toronto Branch was formed in May 1896. On 27 May 1914, the Parliament of Ottawa approved an act to creat the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada. In June 1932, the Saskatchewan Branch was the first Branch west of Toronto to receive a Charter. The Branch became inactive during the Nineteen Forties through the Nineteen Seventies. Renewed interest in creating a Branch in the 1980s led to the Regina Branch receiving its Charter on 2 June 1984. During and following the building of this cairn and its unveiling in 2005, there was increased awareness that our Branch membership was province wide. Members felt that a change in name would be more inclusive. A request was made to the United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada - Dominion Office and a new Charted was granted 19 June 2010 changing the name from Regina Branch to the Saskatchewan Branch. Installed 19 June 2014
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