Mankota

Mankota (2021 population: 198) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of Mankota No. 45 and Census Division No. 3. The village is located on Highway 18, about 150 km southeast of the City of Swift Current. It is also near the villages of Kincaid, Ferland, Hazenmore, and Glentworth.

History

The community acquired a post office in 1911 and was named by combining Manitoba and North Dakota, the original homes of many of its initial settlers. Mankota incorporated as a village on February 3, 1941.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Mankota had a population of 198 living in 108 of its 133 total private dwellings, a change of -3.4% from its 2016 population of 205. With a land area of 1.5 km² (0.58 sq mi), it had a population density of 132.0/km² (341.9/sq mi) in 2021.

In the 2016 Census of Population, the Village of Mankota recorded a population of 205 living in 107 of its 137 total private dwellings, a -2.9% change from its 2011 population of 211. With a land area of 1.42 km² (0.55 sq mi), it had a population density of 144.4/km² (373.9/sq mi) in 2016.

Economy and businesses

Mankota has a stockyard for the sale of cattle from many farms in the area. Other businesses include the Grasslands Inn, a motel/restaurant, a general store, an Innovation Credit Union, a small clinic/old folks home, a bowling alley, a town hall, a library, a fire station, a smaller community centre, an auto repair shop, a Petro-Canada gas station, and a Canada Post office.

In 2016, Weil Group Resources of Dallas constructed a $10 million helium processing facility near Mankota to supply refined, industrial-grade helium gas to world markets, reviving a mineral resource which was previously established in Saskatchewan.

Education

Mankota has one school that covers Kindergarten through Grade 12 in the Prairie South School Division. Enrollment for the 2008-2009 year was at 78, declining to 61 in 2011, and declining further every year on average.

There are 40 students enrolled for the 2022-23 school year, seven of which are in Grade 12.

Attractions

• Grasslands National Park, one of Canada's newer national parks and is located in southern Saskatchewan along the Montana border.
• Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park, straddling the Alberta-Saskatchewan border southeast of Medicine Hat, is Canada's only interprovincial park.
• Mankota Stockyards, has cow sales every Friday all year long.
• The Mankota Rodeo is held in May every year.

Notable people

• David Anthony Rodney, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for Calgary-Lougheed, November 22, 2004 – November 1, 2017
• Neil O Webster, photographer

Climate

See also

• List of francophone communities in Saskatchewan
• List of villages in Saskatchewan
• List of geographic names derived from portmanteaus

References