The monument, dedicated in 1901, was sculpted by Louis-Philippe Hébert of Québec. Queen Victoria born May 24, 1819, reigned from 1837 until her death in 1901. The First Nations of Canada entered into many Treaties with Her Majesty Queen Victoria, thus enabling the Dominion Government to pursue peaceful settlement of the Canadian West. For the area in which Yorkton would eventually be located, the land surrender, with conditions was effected by the signing of Treaty No. 4 in 1874 at Fort Qu’Appelle. Yorkton itself was founded in 1882 with a Charter or Indenture, again between Her Majesty Queen Victoria, represented by the Minister of the Interior of Canada and the York Farmers Colonization Company of Toronto. The Company officials then invited farmers from Ontario and the British Isles to come settle in 1882 in an area they called York Colony. It was comprised of 6 townships, with 2 more added in 1883. These officials — Founding Fathers of Yorkton were Nathaniel Clark Wallace, John Jeremiah Cook and James Armstrong. Few places in the West were founded by a settlement company with a charter under the authority of Queen Victoria. This is a special part of Yorkton’s history.
