[5] Plains Cree and Saulteaux First Nations inhabited both the Whitesand River and Yorkton Creek watersheds before the arrival of Europeans as archaeological evidence shows signs of encampment sites and hunting activity.

With the signing of Treaty 4 at Fort Qu'Appelle in 1874, the land was opened up for settlement from Eastern Canada.

Since there already was a York City in Ontario, when the post office opened on 1 January 1884, it was renamed Yorkton.

A few years later, the Manitoba & North Western Railway was extending westward and the route was going to miss Yorkton.

In 1890, the hamlet of Yorkton left the banks of the Little Whitesand River and moved south 4.6 km (2.9 mi) to its present location.

Yorkton Creek begins at the eastern end of Leech Lake in the RM of Cana No.

Just before it meets the Whitesand River, it is joined by Cussed Creek in the RM of Good Lake No.