Assiniboia Travel Guide

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Located in the country-side, the Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site owes its existance to the discovery of rare "refractory" or heat-resistant clay being discovered in the Dirt Hills (behind the plant) in 1886. However, due to its isolated location, not much happened until the Canadian Northern Railway built a line nearby in 1910, making for much easier access to possible customers. By 1914 the Claybank Brick Plant had been built and was in operation with its special type of brick that had a great market lining the fire-boxes of old steam locomotives operated by both Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways. It was also used in the boilers of the Royal Canadian Navy ships fighting the Battle of the Atlantic in World War 2 as well as providing the launchpads for space exploration rockets at Cape Canaveral, Florida in the 1960s/70s. The type of clays found there were also used to make a light-coloured 'face-brick' that adorned many building such as the Chateau Frontenac Hotel in Quebec City as well as many others throughout Canada.

The glory years ended in the early 1950's with the coming of diesel locomotives and other technological advances, forcing the plant to finally close operations in 1989. Because the site had remained virtually unchanged since the early 1900s and remains one of the best examples industrial facilities from that era in all of North America, it was designated a National Historic Site in 1994.

The 2nd photo shows a closer view of some of the ten original brick smokestacks for the bee-hive kilns that were used to 'fire' the bricks in the manufacturing process. The 3rd photo shows the unique colour of the 'face-bricks' produced at the plant, this time they were used to construct the early 1920s bunkhouse that could accommodate up to 40 plant workers. It now serves as the visitor centre.

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Quite often in Saskatchewan, you will see isolated old relics of farm machinery standing beside the road, usually in the middle of nowhere. That was exactly the case here about 3 hours into my trip as I cruised along Highway 13 toward Verwood. On top of a small hill were two old-fashioned combine harvesters that had been used to bring the grain crops to market many decades ago. Quite often, these long-antiquated pieces of machinery are stuck here and there just to make a good 'marker' along the road. On those short winter days with snow covering everything and a blizzard blowing, it is nice to actually spot something (in the absence of any trees) that tells you that you have not driven into the ditch yet!

The machine shown here was built by the Nichols & Shepard Company of Battle Creek, Michigan. It was formed in 1848 and had a very successful run until the Great Depression forced it and three other companies to merge in 1929 to become the Oliver Company. By then, these old types of theshers were obsolete. The 2nd photo shows its smaller companion, a McCormick-Deering machine that was built some time after 1923. The invention of the mechanical threshing machine in 1834 was thanks to Virginia farmer Cyrus McCormick who then developed his own company. In 1902 he joined with other companies to form the International Harvester company which is still around today (known as Navistar). In their 'day', both machines would likely have been hauled around the fields by old steam-driven tractors or more 'modern' piston-engined types with steel wheels.

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Saskatchewan can be an interesting province to explore. As I neared the brick factory at Claybank I spotted this example of gently undulating moraines, left-overs from the last period of glaciation which took place about 12,500 years ago. Prior to this melting, almost all of Canada and northern USA was covered by a giant ice sheet which had scraped up soil and rocks as it moved over the land. When the big melt finally came, it dropped those remnants wherever it happened to be at the time, resulting in the undulating and irregular surfaces that formed these hills. That was a nice bunch of trees running along the flatland as well!

More typical of the province though is the relatively flat land of the 2nd photo, southwest of Willow Bunch. Huge areas of the province go for miles and miles like this, with most of it being used to grow various crops - the amount of huge farm machinery in the province is amazing. Where the land is a bit too undulating for farming (including areas of moraines), it is used as good grazing ground for beef cattle that can handle the slopes better than heavy farm machinery!

As I turned north and then west again toward Assiniboia, off in the distance I could see a localized rain cell that was moving in from the west. Sure enough, I ran into it a short time later while it briefly beat down before it went it's way and I went mine. It had been a wet Spring and a lot of standing water was making work in the fields soft and difficult.

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There are an estimated 40,000 Pronghorn in the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta but their numbers have been threatened in the past by man-made obstacles. Unlike the Whitetailed Deer, these animals are more like those of the African plains and migrate with the seasons - in this case an 800-km (500-mile) trip each way between Canada and the state of Montana. The number of barb-wire fences put up by ranchers had caused great difficulty for these animals in their migration and there are now moves afoot to have the lower strand of the fence be of a non-barbed variety. This is because these small antelope (about 5-feet long and 4-feet high) will not attempt to jump a fence but instead try to squeeze beneath it and are often 'caught' on the barbs and die.

Even though they can run at speeds of up to 110-kph (over 60-mph) they are quite skittish, making them more difficult to get close to. I spotted this distant lone Pronghorn almost 4-hours into my trip, while on an isolated gravel road in the Big Muddy Badlands area very close to the Montana border. The provincial governments are working on ways to protect these animals and southern Saskatchewan is one of the areas they are concentrating on.

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Whitetail Deer are common throughout most of North America and generally don't migrate with the seasons - they tough it out through the winter months while waiting for the new 'fawns' to be born in the spring as the cycle of life continues. They are quite common in Saskatchewan and are one of the main 'roadkill' animals you will see alongside the major highways.

In my drives along the many back-roads of the Province, I have noticed that they often can be found beside small streams where highway bridges cross. Sure enough, as I neared Avonlea at the beginning of my road trip I slowed down as I came to one of these areas and very quickly spotted a deer there. These animals are quite skittish so it soon began running along parallel to the highway. It was not as 'nervous' as most as I was able to pull ahead of it and then take a photo as it dashed on by!

An hour and a half later, after taking in the sights of the Claybank Brick Factory, I was on an even more remote road near Kayville when I came across another of the deer - standing in the middle of the highway (2nd photo). I approached slowly in the car and he finally got the message, as he ran off into a field with his 'white tail' alarm showing while a couple of Red-winged Blackbirds harrassed him (3rd photo).