Alida began in the late 19th century as a Canadian Pacific Railway station, and it was named for Dame Alida Brittain. The surrounding area was settled by immigrants from Europe and from other parts of North America. A post office opened on December 1, 1913, with Eugene Lemieux as the first postmaster, a job he held until 1927. Alida incorporated as a village on February 19, 1926.
The railway that gave the village its start came to an end in 1976, when a spring storm washed out the rail bridge near Lauder, Manitoba, at the beginning of the line. The line's economic viability had been in question for some time, so the bridge was never repaired, and the track was taken up beginning in 1978. The local school closed in 2005, and students are now bused to Carnduff, Oxbow or Redvers.
Today farming and oil are the main local industries, and Alida sits at the crossroads of Highways 361, 318 and 601, about 85 km east of Estevan. Nearby ghost towns include Nottingham, Auburnton and Cantal. The village has a skating and curling rink, rebuilt and completed by 2017 after the original flooded, where the Alida Wrecks hockey team plays. Each year brings curling bonspiels, a recreational hockey tournament, and a sports day with slow pitch softball, usually early in June.
Written from Wikipedia’s article “Alida, Saskatchewan” (CC BY-SA 4.0), and shared under the same licence.