This cache is part of a series called the “Prairie Storms Adventure Trail” developed by Living Skies 2014 MEGA Event volunteers. Enjoy the hidden secrets of Southern Saskatchewan by getting off the beaten trail to sites seldom visited, scenic views, historic sites and buildings. The name also pays tribute to the Alberta's “Prairie Winds Adventure Trail” which was created for the Best of the Bad (WestCan 1) MEGA event in 2011.
This series will also take you along the Red Coat Trail, which is a 1,300 km route through southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta taken in 1874 by the North-West Mounted Police in their quest to bring law and order to the Canadian West. In Saskatchewan, Highway 13 is designated as Red Coat Trail.
Gravelbourg is a small multicultural town in south central Saskatchewan, Canada with a population just over 1100. It is located just west of the Wood River at the junction of provincial Highway 43 and Highway 58. The region served as a path for First Nations peoples many years ago, and was also integrated into the Redcoat Trail of the 19th century. Gravelbourg is now a key link on the 21st century Trans Canada Trail.
Gravelbourg was settled in the early 1900s and was one of the French bloc settlements of the Gravelbourg-Lafleche-Meyronne area in southwestern Saskatchewan. In 1930 it became the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic diocese of Gravelbourg. Gravelbourg carries the name of its founder Abbé Louis-Pierre Gravel. Louis-Pierre Gravel was designated a Person of National Historic Significance in 1956. The inscription on the monument in Gravelbourg built in 1958 to honour him reads:
“Between 1906 and 1926 more than ten thousand Canadian citizens, many of whom were then living in the United States, answered the call of Reverend Louis-Pierre Gravel to make their homes on the broad plains of Saskatchewan where they built towns and established French-speaking cultural institutions.”
A number of heritage buildings are located within the community. Our Lady of the Assumption Roman Catholic Cathedral, the former Convent of Jesus and Mary and the former Bishop's Residence, were designated the Gravelbourg Ecclesiastical Buildings National Historic Site of Canada in 1995. Gravelbourg Court House, College Mathieu Pavilion, Gravelbourg Post Office, Gaiety Theatre, Canadian National Railway Station are also listed heritage sites.
Stop and take the time to tour Gravelbourg to see what it has to offer.
Click Here for Town of Gravelbourg
To receive a Special Edition Living Skies Geocoin, you must have logged, as "found" at least
45 of the “Prairie Storms Adventure Trail” caches. Please send an e-mail to
prairiestorms@livingskies2014.ca and we will check your profile and contact you for mailing arrangements. There are approximately
30 geocoins available.