Kayville began in 1905, when Romanian settlers came looking for free government land under the Dominion Lands Act. The community took its name from Billie McKay, who took the "Kay" from his surname and added "ville." Settlers built around Main Street, and the first homesteads, worked by farmers and ranchers, went up in 1906. The Romanian settlers built St. Peter and Paul Church in 1908.
By around 1912 or 1913 the community was big enough to support a post office, and a school was established. Growth picked up when the Canadian Pacific Railway arrived in 1924. Kayville became a thriving farming community and was organized as a hamlet by 1951. In 1970 it had more than 100 residents. A swimming pool and community centre complex was built in 1984 and hosted many community functions.
Over the 1980s and 1990s the population fell and most of the businesses closed. The post office remains, and the credit union opened on Wednesdays until September 2016. St. Peter and Paul Church has been restored, holds services every Sunday, and is protected as a Provincial Heritage Site. Because of Kayville's closeness to Regina, people from the city and surrounding communities have begun buying land in and around the hamlet, bringing hope for a more prosperous future.
Written from Wikipedia’s article “Kayville” (CC BY-SA 4.0), and shared under the same licence.