BRESAYLOR, Sask. — In 1876, a telegraph line was built four miles south of what was later to become the Bresaylor settlement. That line went from Battleford to Leduc. Alta. and then to Edmonton, along what was originally surveyed to be the CPR line across Canada. The government later changed the route of the CPR line to run through Regina and moved the capital from Battleford to Regina.
This early telegraph line consisted of poplar poles and light wire. The poles could burn down from lightning strikes or prairie fires. Cattle and buffalo would rub on the poles, knocking them down and breaking the wire.
The 1885 resistance made it clear to the government that they needed connection to Bresaylor, Fort Pitt, Mooswa, Saddle Lake, Victoria and Fort Saskatchewan. A new line was constructed through the Bresaylor settlement along the Fort Pitt trail to Edmonton, crossing the North Saskatchewan River at Fort Pitt. In 1886, the new line was built with tamarack poles from Fort Pitt to Edmonton. Steel poles with heavier wire and insulators were used from Battleford to Fort Pitt. These steel poles were lightning and fire resistant, and couldn’t be knocked down by animals. A repair terminal was set up approximately every 33 miles.
The Alex Sayers house, located beside the Fort Pitt trail and approximately 33 miles from Battleford, became the first telegraph office in the Bresaylor settlement. Alex was going through a difficult period in his life. He lived in an older, smaller house which he had built in 1882. He married in 1884 and started building a larger house for his future family. When the land was surveyed in 1885, he found his new house was on the road allowance and he had to move it over 15 feet. His wife gave birth to twins who died shortly after birth. In 1886, she gave birth to a son, but she died from complications due to childbirth. With the Dominion Telegraph looking for an office and Alex no longer needing his new house for just himself and the baby, he rented out the larger house to the telegraph company for $10 a month. It would have also served as a repair depot for one or two repairmen and probably a home for their families.
Alex remarried and by 1895 his family had grown to need a bigger house. He moved his family into the larger house, and the telegraph office moved to a building which was half a mile southeast. This building also became the post office. With the coming of the railroad in 1905, the hamlet of Bresaylor was established at the siding two miles west of Alex Sayers’ house. In 1907, the telegraph office was moved to the house that is now the main museum building in the hamlet.
Mark July 30 on your calendar. The Bresaylor Heritage Museum will be hosting its annual potluck. The museum will be open to the public all day. This year is the 40th anniversary since the Bresaylor Heritage Museum Committee took over running the museum that Joe Sayers had started.
The Bresaylor Heritage Museum is open again for the summer by appointment only from June 1 to Sept. 4. Please phone Enola at 306-893-8002 or Bob at 306-895-2075 to arrange a guided tour by one of our volunteer staff. Check out the Bresaylor Heritage Museum Facebook page for more information.
