Hirsch, Saskatchewan Explained

Official Name:Hirsch
Settlement Type:Hamlet
Pushpin Map:Saskatchewan#Canada
Pushpin Relief:yes
Pushpin Label Position:left
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Canada
Subdivision Type1:Province
Subdivision Name1:Saskatchewan
Subdivision Type3:Census division
Subdivision Name3:Division No. 1
Subdivision Type4:Rural Municipality
Subdivision Name4:RM of Coalfields No. 4
Established Title:Post office founded
Established Date:1893
Established Date2:1 December
Population As Of:2016
Timezone:CST
Coordinates:49.1753°N -102.5931°W
Elevation M:574
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:S0C 0Y0
Area Code:306
Blank Name:Highways
Blank Info:Highway 18
Blank1 Name:Waterways
Footnotes:[1] [2] [3]

Hirsch is a hamlet in the RM of Coalfields in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan and is located about 18 miles east of the city of Estevan along Highway 18. The post office originally opened on 1 December 1893 with the town misspelled as "Hirsh". It closed on 31 March 1970.

History

Hirsch was founded in May 1892 by Jewish settlers as part of the activities of the Baron Maurice de Hirsch Foundation and the Jewish Colonization Association (JCA). It was the first settlement of the JCA and was named after the founder of the foundation, one of the most important Jewish philanthropists of the 19th century.[4] [5]

In Hebrew religion and custom, the dead of the community are afforded great respect and a proper cemetery must be built before other needs are attended to. Therefore, even before the first synagogue was built, the early settlers were setting aside land for a cemetery. A colonist, Mr. Blank, paced off an acre of his quarter section for a cemetery. Almost ninety years after the first settlers arrived, descendants, neighbours, and friends of the Hirsch Colonists attended the consecration and designation of the Hirsch Cemetery as a Saskatchewan historic site. The Hirsch Jewish Cemetery can be found along Highway 18, just west of Hirsch. The original synagogue still exists but has been converted into a home.

During the Dust Bowl crisis of the 1930s, most Jewish families left Hirsch and moved to nearby Winnipeg.

The place is best known for the autobiography of Mrs. Zellickson (also: Zelickson), first name unknown, who immigrated in 1891 and wrote extensively about life on the prairies in 1925, especially about the role of women in it. In 1925 she responded to a discussion in the magazine Nor'-West Farmer on the topic of what a woman's work was worth.[6]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: National Archives . Archivia Net . Post Offices and Postmasters. 2014-04-26 . 2018-12-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181226090213/http://www.collectionscanada.ca/archivianet/post-offices/001001-100.01-e.php%0A . dead .
  2. Web site: . MRD Home . Municipal Directory System . 2014-04-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160115125115/http://www.mds.gov.sk.ca/apps/Pub/MDS/welcome.aspx . 2016-01-15 .
  3. Web site: Commissioner of Canada Elections . Chief Electoral Officer of Canada . Elections Canada On-line . 2005 . April 26, 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070421084430/http://www.elections.ca/home.asp . 2007-04-21 .
  4. Web site: Archived copy . 2020-08-12 . 2015-10-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151029205556/http://www.discoverestevan.com/discover-our-southeast-communities/discover-hirsch . dead .
  5. Manitoba History. Doomed to Failure: The Jewish Farm Colony of Hirsch, Saskatchewan. John C.. Lehr. 89. Spring 2019. Manitoba Historical Society.
  6. Web site: MRS. Zelickson.