Humboldt, Saskatchewan, town, pop 5161 (2001c), 5074 (1996c), 4989 (1991c), 5097 (1986cA), area 11.66 km², inc 1907, is located at a CNR-CPR junction, 112 km east of Saskatoon. Founded on the arrival of the Canadian Northern Railway (1904), it assumed the name of a nearby Dominion Telegraph Line office named for the German scientist, author and explorer Alexander von Humboldt, who travelled extensively throughout North and South America. Situated on the Carlton Trail, the town originally served as a stage depot on the main cart and stagecoach trail from Fort Qu'Appelle to Fort Carlton.

Its designation as a railway divisional point fostered growth, as did the establishment of St Peters Colony (50 townships) by the Roman Catholic Order of St Benedict (1903). Situated on the black soil of the aspen parkland in a relatively risk-free crop area, Humboldt became the colony's largest centre and is now the province's largest town. While certain early commercial enterprises such as wholesale grocers and a tannery have disappeared, others (eg, a flour mill) still operate, and the town continues to grow as an agricultural service centre. It is also a judicial and administrative centre and in 1975 became the Prairie provinces' central testing station for agricultural equipment with the opening of the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute.