Qu'Appelle monument to former schoolHowever, the rural population which Qu'Appelle had served steadily declined as family farms were consolidated: The Dominion Lands Act, 1872 had provided for farms of 160 acres or ¼ section, Elizabeth Mooney, "Dominion Lands Act / Homestead Act," Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan, Retrieved 18 September 2008 a section being one square mile (2.5 km 2 ).