Late 1888 or early 1889. — J.W. Thornton’s store. The business men at the old town site, on the banks of the Little White Sand River, north of present day Yorkton realized that the village had little future with a railway being built 4 kilometers to the south. J.W. Thornton was the first to move. He built this store on Front Street North (later changed to Livingstone) and Market Street. Little is known about J.W. Thornton. His name was not on the list of the early homesteaders, so he seemed to have been interested only in the store business. He appears to have left Yorkton before year 1900, as his name is not in very early directories.
The occasion for the festivities in this photo is also not recorded. There are a good number of musicians providing the entertainment.
Source: Howard Jackson Collection
Contact Terri Lefebvre Prince,
Heritage Researcher,
City of Yorkton Archives,
Box 400, 37 Third Avenue North
Yorkton, Sask. S3N 2W3
306-786-1722
heritage@yorkton.ca
