Waldeck is a German word meaning "Wooded Corner"; the community is probably named after the willows that grew along the banks of the Swift Current Creek.
In 1903 the Canadian Government opened to settlement a tract of land from Swift Current Creek to Herbert. Among the first settlers were Rev. Klaas Peters and Mr. Abraham (probably Abram Klassen) in 1908. Waldeck incorporated as a village on December 23, 1913.[6]
The majority of the people in and around Waldeck are of Mennonite ancestry.
Elon Musk worked on a farm near Waldeck after coming to Canada from South Africa in the late 1980s.[7]
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Waldeck had a population of 294 living in 114 of its 119 total private dwellings, a change of 6.1% from its 2016 population of 277. With a land area of 1.99 km2 (0.77 sq mi), it had a population density of 147.7/km2 (382.6/sq mi) in 2021.[10]
In the 2016 Census of Population, the Village of Waldeck recorded a population of 277 living in 113 of its 117 total private dwellings, a -7.2% change from its 2011 population of 297. With a land area of 2 km2 (0.77 sq mi), it had a population density of 138.5/km2 (358.7/sq mi) in 2016.[11]
The Bergthaler Mennonites by Klaas Peters. Translated from the German by Margaret Loewen Reimer. With a biography of Klaas Peters by Leonard Doell. CBMC Publications, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1988.
