Battleford, Northwest Territories (1881 census)
Battleford was a census subdivision in Northwest Territories, recorded in the 1881 Census of Canada with a population of 4,830. The administrative centroid was at approximately 52.982°N, 109.455°W.
Population
In 1881, Battleford had a population of 4,830: 2,400 male and 2,430 female residents.
Population trajectory across census years
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1881 | 4,830 |
| 1891 | 2,790 |
Cross-year identity established by spatial polygon overlap (SAME_AS chains across the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary files).
Boundary continuity (non-identical overlaps)
Spatial polygon overlaps with adjacent census years where the boundary shifted enough that the SAME_AS chain didn't merge them. These show where the territory came from and went to even when it isn't tracked as the same persistent place.
Earlier boundary forms
- In an earlier year, this CSD was contained in NO DATA, 1871 (0.8% share).
Later boundary forms
- In a later year, this CSD became part of Battleford, 1891 (68.4% share).
Neighbouring Census Subdivisions in 1881
In the 1881 census, Battleford shared boundaries with:
Full census record, 1881
The 1881 census recorded 25 measurements for this Census Subdivision across 4 categories.
Population & families (1881). This community's record includes 4,830 total population, 2,430 females, 2,400 males, 1,884 married persons, 1,002 married females, 926 families, 882 married males, 148 widowed persons, 135 widowed females, 13 widowed males. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Age structure (1881). This community's record includes 2,798 single persons under 18, 1,505 single males under 18, 1,293 single females under 18. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Buildings & housing (1881). This community's record includes 921 occupied houses, 501 dwellings that are temporary shanties, 420 inhabited houses. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V1T1.)
Agriculture (1881). This community's record includes 17,056 bushels of potatoes, 4,219 bushels of barley, 3,246 bushels of spring wheat, 3,108 bushels of oats, 388 bushels of turnips, 318 bushels of other root crops, 154 acres of wheat, 150 acres of potatoes, 25 bushels of peas and beans. (Source: 1881 Census of Canada, V3T24.)
People with Dictionary of Canadian Biography entries
The Dictionary of Canadian Biography includes biographies of 4 people connected to this place who were alive in 1881, listed below by birth year. Each name links to that person's DCB entry.
| Name | Lifespan | Connection |
|---|---|---|
| Gros Ours 1825?-1888 | 1825–1888 | died here |
| Minahikosis | 1830–1885 | died here |
| Papewes | 1836–1901 | born here |
| Kapapamahchakwew | 1845–1885 | died here |
Residents in 1881
The 1881 census residents page for this Census Subdivision lists 1,493 individuals enumerated here, with name, age, sex, religion, ethnic origin, birthplace, and occupation. Source: TCP/Dillon 1881 Canadian Census deposit at Borealis.
Identifiers
- TCP UID:
NT193005— year-scoped identifier from the Canadian Census Subdivision boundary file - Persistent place ID:
PLACE_NT201001— computed from spatial-overlap chains across census years - Wikidata: not yet grounded. This page covers a place whose persistent identity has not yet been linked to a Wikidata entity. Identification is via TCP UID and spatial polygon only.
Sources
Census tabulations from the 1881 Census of Canada, transcribed and georeferenced by the Canadian Peoples / TCP project, hosted at the HGIS Lab, University of Saskatchewan. Persistent place identity computed from spatial-overlap chains across all available census years (1851–1921). Identity grounding to Wikidata performed via the HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph project's MCP-assisted disambiguation pipeline. See the About / Methodology page for the full data pipeline.
Cite this page
Clifford, J. (2026). "Battleford, Northwest Territories (1881 census)" in HGIS Canada Knowledge Graph. Retrieved from https://jimclifford.ca/hgiscanada/places/nt/battleford-nt193005-1881/.