Saltcoats began in 1887, just ahead of the Manitoba and Northwestern Railway, which arrived in 1888. A post office opened once trains were running, and the railway drove the local economy. The settlement was first called Stirling, but when the rail line came through the name was changed to Saltcoats, after Saltcoats, Scotland. That was the birthplace of a major railway shareholder and the home port of Allen Steam-ship Lines, which carried many of the immigrants from the British Isles who settled the region.
In 1894 Saltcoats became the first village incorporated in the North-West Territories, as they were then known. In 1902, 208 Welsh settlers, 44 families in all, arrived after leaving unfavourable conditions in Welsh Patagonia. Within a generation their community had lost its cultural cohesion and blended into the English-speaking majority.
Today the town is home to Saltcoats & District Regional Park, on the south side of town beside Anderson Lake. The area was used as a park from the 1880s and became a regional park in 1963. It has a campground, sandy beach, boat launch, ball diamonds, picnic area, pavilion and concession stand.
Written from Wikipedia’s article “Saltcoats, Saskatchewan” (CC BY-SA 4.0), and shared under the same licence.