Red River North Heritage Committee The Red River North Heritage Committee (RRNHC) was formed on July 28, 1998 to advise the R.M. of St.Clements council on how best to preserve and promote its rich and diverse heritage for the benefit of future generations. They meet as required to discuss the progress of various projects, to…
Arnhold School District No. 1618 was established on April 2, 1912. Casper and Anna Ogonowski donated two acres of land for the school on SE ¼ 30-15-6E. The schoolhouse was built in 1913, and classes began that year.
This detailed report by David Butterfield outlines the history and reason for the Selkirk and District Planning Area. It also provides an engaging look at many of the early settlements’ styles of architecture, and many heritage buildings reviewed throughout the region and how they were assessed. Click the arrow below to open this document in…
Beaconia is located off the junction of road 98 North and Provincial road 500 in the RM of St. Clements. H. August Larson, otherwise known as “The Little Dane,” arrived in Beaconia some time before 1910. He was a small man with very short legs. In summer he always rode an ox, and in winter…
My name is Marnie Chic, the date is March, 30, 1983. I’m here with Elizabeth Ross in the home of Betty Thorvaldson. Mrs. Thorvaldson, where were you born? I was born in Selkirk, Peguis, or down there down the river. When? In 1916. What was your association with the S.S. Keenora? I was in grade…
Interview with Bill Shead, Friday June 14, 2013. Interviewer: Claire McCaffrey. – Tell me about the early history of Selkirk and the surrounding areas [as it affects your history]. Well, if you think of the name Selkirk, everybody thinks it’s named after the Selkirk settlers when they moved into here about 1812, well that in…
Bird’s Hill was named for the Bird family, who lived here during the early days of Manitoba settlement. James Curtis Bird (c. 1773-1856) was Chief Factor of the Red River District for the Hudson Bay Company and was renowned for his knowledge of the region. In 1824, he retired from 36 years of Company service…
Brokenhead Wetlands Trails can be located by driving north from Winnipeg on PTH 59, passing the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation by approximately 2kms, passing PTH 304 (Stead Road), and using the access road on the west side of the highway which is just south of the highway 12 intersection. The Brokenhead Wetlands Trail geocache site is…
Brookside School District No. 1546 was established on October 19, 1910.
My name is Clifford Stevens, I live in Gimli, Manitoba. I am a third generation lake captain on Lake Winnipeg. I was born in Winnipeg on December 4, 1936. You started off as a deckhand and kind of worked your way up. On the Keenora we used to have a lot of heavy lifting, and…
Note: Because some of these documents are large, we have also broken them into smaller pieces for ease of download A History of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia by Norma Hall with Clifford P. Hall and Erin Verrier. Manitoba: Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Manitoba, 2010. Print. Download (28 pages, 0.2 MB, PDF) Original research about…
The East Selkirk Roadhouse geocache site is located in East Selkirk, Manitoba at GPS coordinates N 50° 07.800 W 096° 49.141. Sir Sanford Fleming, surveyor for the CPR, first chose Selkirk as the Red River crossing for the Canadian Pacific Railway. Unlike Winnipeg, this land did not routinely flood. In 1879 the Government of Canada built…
Photos Wanted! Do you have a photograph that captures your memories of the East Beaches? We are putting together photo albums of beach memories. Send us one photograph with a separate caption that we will include in the album. Examples: Photo of the family cabin Caption: “Dad built the cabin in 1939 and we rebuilt…
A look at some of the earlier farmers and farming techniques in the Red River North Region. PDF. Click the arrow below to view this document in a new page on your browser.
We have compiled many of the geocache locations in the Red River North region into one page with videos to explore the wonderful heritage of the sites. Click below to check out the videos we have here on this site.
We are privileged to have great descriptive videos showcasing our geocache locations in the area. Click below to go directly to the channel and view the videos.
Located along the La Vérendrye Trail (PTH 12), Grand Beach ranks third among the top 10 North American beaches. The seventeenth century French explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes de la Vérendrye referred to the area as Grand Marais, meaning “Big Marsh.” Grand Beach achieved worldwide fame in the twentieth century thanks to the Canadian National…
Exploring the large heritage presence in the Grand Marais area while easily going for a walk and enjoying the outdoors. Click the arrow below to view this document in a new page on your browser.
Our Red River North Heritage group has been busy and has just finished a new series of short videos connected to interesting sites in the RM of St. Clements. Click below to check them out!
Take this self-guided motor tour to discover many of the first sites which greatly influenced our area. Click the arrow below to view this pdf document in a new page on your browser.
The Holy Trinity Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church is located in the district of Poplar Park, on road 88N off highway 59. In 1905 two acres of land for the church and cemetery were purchased from Mr. Klym Weremy at a cost of $35.00. The church was built of logs in 1907 and in 1911 the Building Committee…
My name is Ian Livingstone Reid. I was born in Calgary Alberta in 1931 just in the Depression and I’ve been living in Selkirk since 1947 and I’ve been practicing medicine in Selkirk since 1956 and worked all the time here with my dad till he retired. What was your favourite memory growing up? Favourite…
Learn about the little-known contributions of the St. Peter’s Band of Indians to the Canadian Armed Forces. Click the arrow below to view this document in a new page on your browser.
This document contains many of the best features that the Grand Marais area has to offer. Be sure to check out this lesser-known historic community within the Red River North region. Click the arrow below to access this document in a new window on your browser.
This easy-to-read Powerpoint PDF showcases many of the most notable landmarks in the St. Clements Municipality. Click the arrow below to open this document in a new page on your browser.
The first settlers of Lockport, previously known as ‘Grand Rapids’, were drawn to the area north of St. Andrews when the settlement increased its population of retired Hudson’s Bay Company fur traders and expansion was taking place. Many log and stone homes were built in the style known as the “Red River Frame”, such as…
In the summer of 1967, an annual celebration began in Selkirk, Manitoba. The Highland Gathering began in Manitoba in part because many people had emigrated from Scotland and the British Isles in the 1960s. These new arrivals were recruited to work at the Selkirk Hospital for Mental Diseases as psychiatric nurses. There were pipe bands…
Mary Innis Mackenzie was born in Glenrinnes, Dufftown, Banffshire, Scotland on August 4, 1861. At age 25 she married Presbyterian minister, Ewan Mackenzie, in Scotland.8 Mary joined her husband in missionary work and shortly after their marriage the couple travelled to Nova Scotia. Mr. & Mrs. Mackenzie made at least one trip back to Scotland…
The first St. Clements Municipal Office was located on Lot 94 of Old Henderson Highway. This lot was owned by William T. Fidler who assisted with the caretaking duties. From 1884 until 1914, this building was the cornerstone of the community; it even acted as a temporary school for the Kitchener School District in 1900. The…