Explore the world’s largest glacial push hills in Saskatchewan

When the glaciers moved north nearly 12,000 years ago, they left behind massive chunks of ice and piles of dirt that eventually formed some of the highest glacial push hills in the world. These hills run from the Village of Avonlea’s Blue Hills west to the Cactus Hills near Briercrest and south to the Dirt Hills around Spring Valley. The hills are considered “ice-shoved” because the moving glacier folded and thrust the ground underneath into the hills found there today. The hills reach heights of 880 metres in altitude and the entire area encompasses almost 1,000 square kilometres. The Dirt Hills region is laced with interesting sights from the ridges and hills to deep coulees and wildlife. The first ranches in the area popped up in the 1880s and early 1900s. Frequent clumps of trees witness the efforts of the homesteaders to build a life in the Dirt Hills area. This area has important historic sites relating to Aboriginal culture, the Wood Mountain and Fort Qu’Appelle Trails, Oro Lake — which is saltier than the Dead Sea because of its sodium sulphate deposits — and the routes the North West Mounted Police (NWMP) took while hauling supplies from Eastern Canada to their headquarters in Fort McLeod, Alta., in 1874. Federal surveyors in the late 1800s identified the Dirt Hills as the highest point in a line between Cypress Hills and the hills in Ontario. Several years ago, some Dirt Hills residents realized the significance of the hills and understood the connection of the natural setting and culture. They founded the Spring Valley and District Interpretive Centre with headquarters in the old Artesian School in the Hamlet of Spring Valley. Members of the centre welcome and conduct guided tours of the Dirt Hills, explaining the area’s many features and history. The tour includes panoramic views, a trip to Oro Lake, and a visit to a bison jump and early pioneer’s stone house. Be prepared for a full day. Visitors will also view the 100-year-old Roman Catholic Church with its unique plaster Stations of the Cross. The centre is open from May 15 to Sept. 15 by appointment. To arrange a tour of the area, call 306-475-2542 or 306-630-6060.

Claybank Brick Plant shows visitors area’s early industry

One of Saskatchewan’s earliest industrial factories remains for visitors to view much as it was more than 100 years ago. The Claybank Brick Plant, located 25 minutes southeast of Moose Jaw, is a national heritage site. The plant made bricks out of clay from nearby deposits between 1914 and 1989 before the American owners closed the operation, leaving a collection of buildings, equipment and kilns as they were — in operating condition. The Claybank Historical Society was formed and took over the site, performing restorations and providing self-guided tours in the summer. The last Sunday in June is normally scheduled as Heritage Day with tours, guides, food, entertainment, wagon rides and jigger rides on the rail track. Heritage officials consider the Claybank site one of the bestpreserved early industrial factors in North America. NASA used bricks from the plant on the rocket launch pads in Florida, the navy used bricks to line ships’ boilers during the First World War, while the material makes up the face of many important buildings in Saskatchewan and Ontario. Visitors can also explore the Mossold clay canyons that supplied the clay for the factory. Briercrest homesteader Tom McWilliams discovered the site in 1886 after travelling by foot to the Blue Hills near Avonlea to pick berries to preserve for winter food. Prairie fires had destroyed the berry trees, but McWilliams found outcrops of rare and rich deposits of white mud clay that he sent to Ottawa for analysis. Upon learning of the value of the industrial-grade deposit, he worked hard during the next several decades — almost to obsession — to raise funds for a brick factory. McWilliams later entered into a formal agreement with the Moose Jaw Fire Brick and Pottery Company shortly after that firm was established in 1904. Besides the brick plant, other attractions in the area include Aboriginal ceremonial sites, Dunnet Regional Park, Long Creek Golf Course, Briercrest Museum, Avonlea Heritage House Museum and the Town of Gravelbourg. To ensure the Claybank Brick Plant is open, call 306-868,4474 or go to claybankbrick.ca.