Description of Historic Place

The C.P.R. Dam is a Municipal Heritage Property in the City of Swift Current and is located within Riverside Park. The C.P.R. Dam, first built in 1888, is approximately 139 metres in length including a low, 55-metre long, earth-filled wooden plank spillway.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the C.P.R. Dam lies in its use as a reservoir, formerly providing water for the steam locomotives travelling the Canadian Pacific Railway's main line. With the Swift Current Creek determined to be a reliable source of water required to service the locomotives, in 1888, a 139-metre long, earth, stone and plank dam was built to fulfill this important need of the C.P.R. With the flow of the Swift Current Creek harnessed, water was pumped to the roundhouse and water tank near the station. The dam has been subsequently been rebuilt with a concrete crest, wings and walls and wood plank spillway over top of the earth-filled construction and now serves as a landscape feature in Riverside Park.

Source:

City of Swift Current Bylaw No.21-1985.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the C.P.R. Dam resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that reflect the property’s use as a C.P.R. water reservoir, including its original location on the Swift Current Creek, its low profile, earth-filled construction with north and south retaining walls totaling 84.4 metres in length; an overflow 54.9 metres in length with a concrete crest, wing walls and wooden plank spillway.