History
Community Historical
Claims
Wawanesa is one of numerous
Manitoba towns that had its original location
abandoned when a nearby site was chosen by a railway company. In this
case
the village of Souris City, originally surveyed in 1881, had only a
short
way to travel. It is also one of dozens of towns that sprang up almost
overnight
when a railway station appeared in the middle of a well-populated
farmland.
A map of the region in 1885 would show the modestly well-developed
settlements
of Souris City, Rounthwaite and Millford surrounding the current
location
of Wawanesa. All had basic services and settlers turned to these spots
for
mail and supplies. Trips to Brandon, a day’s journey north, were
necessary
for selling grain and buying the more specialized items. A thriving
grist
mill operated along the river to the south by the John Gregory family
and
a brick yard near Souris City also were well used by the settlers.
With such services in place the setters turned their attention to the
business
of establishing farms while the railway companies just kept making
promises.
By the time the current town of Wawanesa appeared in 1890, the region
itself
had a long and interesting history.
In the winter of 1889/1990 most of the residents of Souris City used
the
river ice to slide their dwellings and business structures a few
kilometres
northwards to the newly created townsite of Wawanesa. In a few short
months
the little village nestled attractively in a deep wide bend of the
Souris
River sprang fully-fledged into being.
In the early years of the twentieth century Wawanesa consolidated its
position
as the primary trading centre for the region while to the east,
Treesbank,
and to the west, Nesbitt also prospered. Nearby Methven and Rounthwaite
remained
smaller service centres.
As Wawnesa looks forward to the century ahead it has taken steps to
preserved
important aspects of its past, including the preservation of the
original
Wawanesa Mutual Office as a Provincially Designated Heritage Site
housing
the Sipiweski Museum. Among the museums exhibits are important
collections
relating to “The Mutual” and to Nellie McLung who grew up
nearby and was
married in the local church.
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