How did Smiley get its name?

Did you ever wonder how our surrounding communities acquired their names? Most of those villages and towns were named after a pioneer and Smiley is one of them.

According to the history book ‘Where the Wild Goose Flies’, Smiley was named after Ernest Everett Smiley who lived from 1877-1956). He was born in Pettit County Missouri, and came to Saskatoon in 1905 and to Smiley in 1905-1906. He filed on a homestead located at SE 1/4 12-31-26 W3rd.

Mr. McFarline, who was in charge of building the rail line, had stayed at the Smiley home many times during his trips to the surveyors’ camps. He sent in the name of Mr. Smiley to the Grand Trunk Pacific head office, for the name of the town. And the rest is all history.

The village of Smiley was named after Ernest Everett Smiley. Photo “Where the Wild Goose Flies” history book