History
The history of Pilot Butte is marked by dramatic growth followed by decline and now by growth. Except for one or two houses on Railway Avenue, the most notable being the "Martin House", there are very few physical reminders of Pilot Butte's early development. Most of the original structures, one of the most prominent being the old CPR water tower, have either been dismantled or destroyed.
The Butte played a significant role in the lives of the Prairie Indians. These aboriginal people, who camped near Boggy Creek, used the Butte as a look out and signal point.
European settlement in the area can be traced back to the 1840s. Significant settlement took place between 1880 and 1900. Pilot Butte, meaning "Lookout Point", was chosen in 1883 as a name for the settlement. By 1913 Pilot Butte was a sizeable town. It flourished because it offered the CPR a reliable year round water source and at one point, the CPR built a water conduit to Regina.
Between 1913-23, with a population of about a 1000, Pilot Butte thrived. The Town boasted a railway station, 3 grain elevators, a stockyard, hotel and boarding houses. It had a pool hall, bowling alley, general store, butcher and blacksmith shops, 2 churches, 2 schools (nearby) and 2 section houses. Incorporated as a Village in 1913 the Village of Pilot Butte was disbanded in 1923. Reincorporated in 1963, it achieved town status in 1979 and is now home to 1998 residents.