Netherhill Saskatchewan then and now

Netherhill, a pinhead-sized dot on the map, blink and you’ll miss it kind of place, a mostly forgotten backwater on the great plains of western south-central Saskatchewan. It’s a tiny community, a few blocks square, and a wee bit quaint, as small prairie towns often are. Off the beaten path (a tired old cliche we so love it’s become a title for what we do), few people driving by on the busy highway just to the north know it’s there and even less take the time to visit. But we did.

And our goal, to shoot a trademark Chris & Connie/BIGDoer.com “then and now”, one of our favourite sub-genres to appear on this website. Armed with a century old photo – well a scan of a century old postcard, sent to us by a reader – we make our way to “downtown”, at the corner of Main and Railway – every small town has/had a Main and Railway – to see if it’s possible to capture something similar.

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ Scroll down for photos and to comment ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓

Netherhill was founded in the early 1910s. Looking at the old image, which our expert skills tell us is from around that time, hopes were high for the town. One can see a hotel, the only building connecting the then and now shots, and a long row of businesses flanking the wide main street. It looks a happening place.

While not immediately identifiable, the various businesses seen in the old photo probably included a general store, restaurant, blacksmith, barber/pool hall, insurance agency, the whole gamut of businesses one would expect to see in that era. They’re all gone. Mostly likely, long gone.

The hotel looks a little worse for wear in 2015. Once straight and true, there is nary a square edge on the building today. But it is lived in, or so it appears, and is named “Steve’s Castle”. We knocked on the door to see if anyone was home, to maybe see if we could get some background information, but only a cat greeted us. And he wasn’t taking.

Netherhill today has a population of a couple dozen. Given what’s seen in the old photo clearly it was much larger back then. Notice all the people milling about, and the passing horse and wagon in front of the hotel. Some parts of the sign in the mid-ground can be read and it’s an ad for a local lumber yard.

Notice the bare prairie off in the distance in the old photo. Houses are not seen but would have been been located left and right of downtown, just off frame.

The only other element that ties the old to the new is the railway. This line is from the early 1910s – the town and railway arrived on the scene near the same time, which was common back then – and was built by the Canadian Northern Railway. Since the 1920s it’s belonged to Canadian National Railways. The track is still active, but much less so when compared to the old days. The line, until a half dozen years ago or so, traveled all the way between Saskatoon Saskatchewan and Calgary Alberta, but today has been cut back. A small grain terminal, just behind our shooting position, loads grain cars.

On this same trip we explored the old Netherhill school which will be the subject of its own report, sometime soon.

This is not the best then and now we’ve done in terms of lining things up, but what we like is how it shows, dramatically so, how much Netherhill has changed over the years. It’s a sad state of decline, something that’s not unique to here. It’s happening all over the prairies. Where there was once hope and promise, today there is a quiet atrophy. We’re looking at a once vibrant community in its autumn years.
What a difference a century makes.

Our now shots, as always, are lined up in camera and the results, good or bad, are displayed here.

Thanks to a BIGDoer fan, Johnathan Williams of Saskatoon, for sending in the “then” photo. We encourage our readers to send in images like this, showing a street scene or old building, for use in this ongoing series. They must yours, say from your family collection, or be in public domain (most postcards are). Scans are fine, or we can do that for you.

More then and now posts…
Alsask Saskatchewan then and now (from this same trip).
Calgary then and now – those 70s condos.
Fort MacLeod then and now – Fort Museum.

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date: June, 2015.
Location: Netherhill, SK.
Article sources: CNR records.
Please keep clear of railway tracks.

  • _________________________

    BIGDoer.com: Doing it Different!



    Something to say in private? Click here to: Reach Us!
    NEWS!First TimersFAQMeet the Team
    BIGDoer.com on Facebook

    If you liked this post, please tip your server…



    Or

    © 2012-2024 Chris Doering, Johanna (Connie) Biggart & the BIGDoer.com Society. 🍁🎀

Netherhill SK

Netherhill Saskatchewan about a century apart.

23 responses

  1. Anne King McArdle says:

    My father was born in 1901 in Scotland he had 9 siblings. They moved to Netherhill when he was a boy. They had a farm near there. His name was James King my Grandfather was John King. some of the family returned here to Scotland and 2 brothers stayed Davie & Billy. they continued to run the farm. I heard stories of their lives in Netherhill. I stumbled on to this site and feel connected to that place. Thank you

    • Thanks for sharing these wonderful memories! We so love it when that happens. What an interesting connection you have to the town.

    • Julie King says:

      My grandfather was born in 1894 in Belfast, but his family was all from Glasgow. His name was John King, the same as his father. According to my father, his grandfather John King Sr. came from Glasgow to Netherhill with 10 or 11 children, his wife Elizabeth and a team of Clydesdales. Anne, I think your grandfather is my great grandfather! 🙋‍♀️

  2. Kyle Adamson says:

    This is quite the photo Chris. That building on the right used to be the hotel and bar that my grandparents ran. Grandpa was gone before I was born but grandma kept the bar open. She sold it about 20 years ago but I did a lot of growing up there as we lived in town the first 5 years of my life and grandma had the often task of watching me during the day. This brings back a lot of memories, kinda makes a guy sad now to.

    Kyle Adamson

    • Simply fascinating Kyle, we always love hearing from those connected to the subjects we show. Glad it brought back some memories. Thanks for commenting!

      • sue netzel bradford says:

        My father was raised on a farm near netherhill……his father was k.I.A…..ww1…leaveing 6 children and a wife behind….(NETZELS).my grandmother remarried to George Gear.and had 3 more children.Does anyone hae any pictures?

        • Six kids seems like so much today, but back then was almost a small family. Thanks for commenting. If anyone contacts us about pictures, we’ll forward that to you.

  3. Dianne DeLancey says:

    What incredible photos …thank you so much for sharing.

  4. Stephanie M says:

    (via Facebook)
    Now should Netherhill ever have a suburb (unlikely by the looks of it)… would it be called the Nether Regions?? Bwahahahahahaha!

  5. Cody Kapcsos says:

    (via Facebook)
    Amazing, once again Chris!

You cannot copy content of this page

Please log-in to continue...
This allows unrestricted access to every post @BIGDoer.com, popups are eliminated,
commenting is on and the "contact us" page is enabled.

Esc to close this box.

Lost Password?

Or...

Your social site may send you a routine notice of login.

Or signup, here: Subscriber Register
___
BIGDoer.com: Serving up POP HISTORY & other McFun!…(Mmmm, yummy bite-sized pieces.)
One million plus words & tens of thousands of photos!