Carrot River, Saskatchewan

Carrot River is a town located in northeast Saskatchewan (population: 1000) in Canada. The administration office for the Rural Municipality of Moose Range #486 is located in Carrot River.HistoryThe name Carrot River comes from the Plains Cree word for river of wild carrots, referring to the wild carrots growing along the Carrot River. Settlement was slow until the Canadian National Railway came in 1931 bringing farmers from the south. The building of roads and drainage ditches improved land conditions around Carrot River. It became a village in 1941 and incorporated as a town on April 1, 1948.EconomyIn 1963, the Squaw Rapids Hydro-Electric was built 50 km north of Carrot River, forming Tobin Lake, an excellent fishing and recreation area close to the town which brings lots of tourism from all over the world. It was renamed to E.B. Campbell HydroElectric Dam in honour of E.B. (Bruce) Campbell, a former SaskPower president, who was the assistant chief engineer during the construction of this station. The dam consists of eight units with a combined generating capacity of 288 net MW. The Weyerhaeuser sawmill once provided the town's largest source of employment. The operation has recently undergone a $14 million upgrade, although on February 20, 2008, Weyerhaeuser stated the mill would close permanently. In 2011, Edgewood Forest Products, after purchasing the mill, began production of wood for China.