Hepburn, about 45 kilometres north of Saskatoon, began in the early 20th century as a railroad station. The coming of the railway made the community grow almost overnight, and many people moved to the area. Before the 1930s the town's population had climbed past 800.
The 1930s were hard. The Great Depression and a severe drought across Western Canada drove many residents and farmers away, and by the end of the decade fewer than 300 people remained. In the 1940s the community sent more than 60 of its men to serve in World War II. After the war Hepburn began to grow again, and new homes were built.
In 1989 the province shut down the railroad line, leaving three grain elevators stranded. As happened across much of Saskatchewan, two were torn down, but one was kept. Built by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool in 1928 at the end of main street along the Canadian National Railway, it was converted into the Hepburn Museum of Wheat, which tells the story of the Wheat Pool, the railway and the farmer.
Education has also been part of the town's story. Hepburn School, serving elementary and high school students, marked its 75th anniversary in 2001, and the small Bethany College Bible college operated in town until it closed in May 2015.
Written from Wikipedia’s article “Hepburn, Saskatchewan” (CC BY-SA 4.0), and shared under the same licence.