Elfros was first settled by Icelandic immigrants, and many of the people who live there today are of Icelandic descent. A post office opened in 1909, and the community incorporated as a village on December 1, 1909.
The Icelandic Pioneer Memorial in Elfros tells the wider story. Two waves of Icelandic settlers came to Saskatchewan. The first came directly from Iceland, paused briefly in Winnipeg, and moved on. The second trekked north and west from older settlements in North Dakota and Manitoba. The first Icelandic families reached Fishing Lake in June 1882, drawn by hay and water. Settlements followed at places including Foam Lake, Kristnes, Leslie, Wynyard and Elfros, together forming the largest Icelandic settlement outside Iceland.
The memorial describes the settlers as poets, musicians and visionaries who became competent farmers and saw the land as a way to improve life for their children. Their communities became cultural centres with bands, choirs, libraries and community halls, and celebrations such as Torrablot, the First Day of Summer and Independence Day were important. Many schools in the area still carry Icelandic names.
Today Elfros sits at the junction of Highways 16 and 35. It was also the hometown of the protagonist in the 2018 Canadian horror film Archons.
Written from Wikipedia’s article “Elfros” (CC BY-SA 4.0), and shared under the same licence.