Rural Municipality of Willowdale No. 153

Willowdale No. 153
Rural municipality
Rural Municipality of Willowdale No. 153
Location of the RM of Willowdale No. 153 in Saskatchewan
Coordinates: 50°27′14″N102°14′24″W / 50.454°N 102.240°W / 50.454; -102.240 Coordinates: 50°27′14″N102°14′24″W / 50.454°N 102.240°W / 50.454; -102.240 [1]
Country	Canada
Province	Saskatchewan
Census division	5
SARM division	1
Formed [2]	January 1, 1913
Government [3]
•  Reeve	Larry Sippola
• Governing body	RM of Willowdale No. 153 Council
• Administrator	Andrea Smyth
• Office location	Whitewood
Area  (2016) [4]
• Land	604.13 km2 (233.26 sq mi)
Population  (2016) [4]
• Total	299
• Density	0.5/km2 (1/sq mi)
Time zone	CST
• Summer (DST)	CST
Postal code	S0G 5C0
Area code(s)	306 and 639

The Rural Municipality of Willowdale No. 153 (2016 population: 299) is a rural municipality (RM) in the southeast portion of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within Census Division No. 5 and SARM Division No. 1.

History

RM of Willowdale No. 153 Municipal Office (Whitewood Post Office)
General information
Location	711 Lalonde Street
Town or city	Whitewood, Saskatchewan
Country	Canada
Construction started	1935
Completed	1936
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Thomas Fuller

The RM of Willowdale No. 153 incorporated as a rural municipality on January 1, 1913. ^[2]

Heritage properties

New Finland is a Finnish speaking block settlement locates within the RM. The St. John's New Finland Lutheran Church, with an active congregation, was officially declared a municipal heritage property on May 4, 2007. The church building was built in 1907, and then the community moved it in 1934 by steam engine to the present location five miles south of the original construction site. This arduous undertaking necessitated sawing the church in half.

The RM's municipal office building, located at 711 Lalonde Street in Whitewood, was originally built in 1935 to house Whitewood's post office. The building is a designated heritage property. ^[5] The building was constructed by the federal government as a make-work project during the depression era.

Geography

The burrowing owl (athene cunicularia), an endangered animal, makes its home in this area, and the monarch butterfly (danaus plexippus) is also monitored in this area by conservationists. ^[6]

Communities and localities

The following urban municipalities are surrounded by the RM.

Towns ^[7]

• Whitewood

Demographics

Population history
(1981–2016)

Year	Pop.	±%
1981	676	—
1986	567	−16.1%
1991	499	−12.0%
1996	408	−18.2%
2001	301	−26.2%
2006	333	+10.6%
2011	297	−10.8%
2016	299	+0.7%
Source: Statistics Canada via Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics [8] [9]

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, the RM of Willowdale No. 153 had a population of 248 living in 91 of its 99 total private dwellings, a change of -15.6% from its 2016 population of 294. With a land area of 594.03 km² (229.36 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.4/km² (1.1/sq mi) in 2021. ^[10]

In the 2016 Census of Population, the RM of Willowdale No. 153 recorded a population of 299 living in 116 of its 133 total private dwellings, a 0.7% change from its 2011 population of 297. With a land area of 604.13 km² (233.26 sq mi), it had a population density of 0.5/km² (1.3/sq mi) in 2016. ^[4]

Government

The RM of Willowdale No. 153 is governed by an elected municipal council and an appointed administrator that meets on the second Wednesday of every month. ^[3] The reeve of the RM is Larry Sippola while its administrator is Andrea Smyth. ^[3] The RM's office is located in Whitewood. ^[3]

References

1. "Pre-packaged CSV files - CGN, Canada/Province/Territory (cgn_sk_csv_eng.zip)". Government of Canada. July 24, 2019. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
2. "Rural Municipality Incorporations (Alphabetical)". Saskatchewan Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Archived from the original on April 21, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
3. "Municipality Details: RM of Willowdale No. 153". Government of Saskatchewan. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
4. "Population and dwelling counts, for Canada, provinces and territories, and census subdivisions (municipalities), 2016 and 2011 censuses – 100% data (Saskatchewan)". Statistics Canada. February 8, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
5. "R.M. of Willowdale No. 153 Municipal Office". Canada's Historic Places - a Federal Provincial and Territorial Collaboration. Retrieved June 16, 2012.
6. "Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre - Conservation Database". Saskatchewan Conservation Data Centre. 2007. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
7. Saskatchewan Genealogy Association , retrieved December 29, 2007
8. "Saskatchewan Census Population" (PDF). Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
9. "Saskatchewan Census Population". Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
10. "Population and dwelling counts: Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions (municipalities), Saskatchewan". Statistics Canada. February 9, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.