Saskatchewan Highway 49

Highway 49 and Provincial Trunk Highway 49 (PTH 49) is a provincial highway in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Most of the highway is in the east-central part of Saskatchewan and only a very short section is in Manitoba. It runs from Saskatchewan Highway 35 between the communities of Fosston and Hendon to the Saskatchewan — Manitoba border, before ending at Provincial Trunk Highway 83 south of the community of Benito. The combined highway is about 166.4 km in length — 165.2 km is in Saskatchewan and 1.2 km is in Manitoba.

Route description
Highway 49 begins at its western terminus with Highway 35 5 km south of Fosston. From Highway 35, it travels east to the Manitoba border, where it transitions to PTH 49. This is a primary Saskatchewan highway maintained by the provincial government and is paved for its length. Located along the highway are the communities of Kelvington, Nut Mountain, Okla, Lintlaw, Ketchen, Preeceville, Sturgis, Norquay, Pelly, and Arran. Just west of Preeceville, Highway 49 crosses the Assiniboine River. Less than 1 mi after crossing into Manitoba, the highway terminates at PTH 83 3 km, south of Benito.

North of Pelly on the Swan River, and accessed from a road off Highway 661, is Fort Livingstone. It is the site of the first capital for the North-West Territories from 1874 to 1876.

Major attractions
Highway 49 provides access to the following recreational areas, roadside attractions, and historical sites and buildings:
 * Hockey Cards billboard is a Canadian roadside attraction near Kelvington, Canada’s hockey Factory
 * Sturgis & District Regional Park
 * Norquay Campground is located near the town centre of Norquay
 * Preeceville Picnic Area is 2.5 km east of Preeceville.
 * Preeceville Wildlife Association Campground is just north of the town of Preeceville with hiking trails to Annie Laurie Lake and a new beach there.
 * Sturgis hosts Saskatchewan's Largest One Day Sports & Rodeo
 * Bucking Horse and Rider statue is a large Canadian roadside attraction is located in Rodeo Falls Park along Highway 49.
 * The Sturgis Museum is located in the old CNR Station which has been relocated on the Assiniboine River Valley a block south of Highway 9/49. This museum features pioneer artifacts as well as local arrowheads.
 * Fort Pelly-Livingstone Museum features the local areas vibrant Royal North-West Mounted Police history. The original fort was entitled Fort Livingstone or (Swan River Barracks) located on the forks of Swan River and Snake Creek and is designated as a heritage site.

History

 * Ketchen, Preeceville, Sturgis, and Norquay all host early Norwegian ethnic bloc settling in the early 20th century.
 * 1899 saw the arrival of Doukhobor settlers near the area of Pelly, Saskatchewan
 * In 1876, David Laird, the first Lieutenant-Governor of the North-West Territories held the First Session of the North-West Territorial Council at Fort Livingstone near Pelly, Saskatchewan. The Dominion Government designated this area as the First Seat of Government for the entire territories in 1875. The capital of the North-West Territories and Royal North West Mounted Police Barracks soon moved to Battleford.

Manitoba
Provincial Trunk Highway 49 is a very short provincial highway in Manitoba. It runs from the Saskatchewan border to PTH 83 3 km south of Benito.

The highway is less than 1 mi long (the sign welcoming westbound motorists to Saskatchewan can be seen from PTH 83) and connects with the same numbered highway across the border. Along with PTH 27 and 57, PTH 49 is one of the shortest provincial trunk highways within Manitoba.

The speed limit is 90 km/h (55 mph).

History
Prior to 1947, PTH 49 was part of Manitoba Highway 6, which extended via Benito to Swan River, Dauphin, and Minnedosa. The section from the highway's current eastern terminus to Roblin was opened to traffic in 1948 and designated as Highway 31 along with the remaining section of highway to Swan River. This route was redesignated as PTH 83 in 1954.

The current route between the Saskatchewan border and Highway 31 was redesignated to PTH 49 in 1947.

Major intersections
From west to east: