Official Name: | Kandahar |
Other Name: | Candahar Post Office |
Settlement Type: | Organized hamlet |
Pushpin Map: | Canada Saskatchewan |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within Saskatchewan |
Coordinates: | 51.7581°N -104.3619°W |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Type1: | Province |
Subdivision Name1: | Saskatchewan |
Subdivision Type2: | Rural Municipality |
Subdivision Name2: | Big Quill |
Subdivision Type3: | Federal Electoral District |
Subdivision Name3: | Regina—Qu'Appelle |
Subdivision Type4: | Provincial Constituency |
Subdivision Name4: | Arm River |
Founder: | Canadian Pacific Railway |
Named For: | Kandahar |
Established Title2: | Village |
Leader Title: | RM Reeve |
Leader Title1: | Member of the Legislative Assembly |
Leader Name1: | Dana Skoropad, (SP) |
Leader Title2: | Member of Parliament |
Leader Name2: | Andrew Scheer |
Leader Title3: | SARM Division No. 4 |
Leader Title4: | Division No. 10, Saskatchewan |
Population Density Km2: | auto |
Timezone: | Central Standard Time |
Utc Offset: | −6 |
Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
Kandahar is a hamlet in Rural Municipality of Big Quill No. 308, Saskatchewan, Canada. Listed as a designated place by Statistics Canada, the hamlet had a population of 20 in the Canada 2016 Census.[1] Located on Highway 16 near Wynyard, Saskatchewan, the community was named by Canadian Pacific Railway executives in the late 19th century for a British military victory in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The hamlet is too small to be enumerated on its own, so its population belongs to the Rural Municipality of Big Quill No. 308. It is located near the south shore of Big Quill Lake, the largest inland body of salt water in Canada.
Many of the first settlers in the Kandahar district were immigrants from Iceland or of Icelandic descent. A significant number arrived from the Argyle settlement in Manitoba.[2] An Icelandic immigrant, Thorvidur Halldorson (born Þorviður Magnússon), served as the district's first postmaster in 1910. From 1910 to 1913, the spelling of the post office was Candahar. Kandahar became a village in 1913, following a petition from its inhabitants. In 1925, Kandahar was listed as a Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. Station on the Minnedosa, Saskatoon, Edmonton Section, CPR. Businesses included a printing press, Prentsmiðja A. Helgasonar, run by Andres Helgason (1867-1939), who was a skilled bookbinder and printer.[3]
The one room school house was named Kandahar School District #3333.
Until the 1970s, Kandahar was a thriving town with various stores and attractions, including a popular steak house. However, in the late 1980s the village's only school closed, and the population has steadily decreased since.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Kandahar had a population of 10 living in 6 of its 8 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 20. With a land area of, it had a population density of in 2021.[4]