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History
Analysis Criteria
| Settlers and
Defining Culture The settlement of the Wawanesa area began in 1879 with the arrival of a few settlers from Ontario who traveled along Yellowquill Trail from Portage. The confirmation of the location of the railway station in 1890 caused the first location, Souris City, to be abandoned in favour of the new location about a two kilometres to the north. Soon many settlers followed, also mainly from Ontario - with some from the British Isles as well. Economic Engines Farming formed the economic basis of virtually all prairie settlements and in this regard Wawanesa was typical in its early years. The formation of the Wawanesa Mutual Insurance Company initially impacted only locals but it grew into an international company that provided a very significant addition to the economic life of the village. Commercial Growth The much-anticipated arrival of the railway in 1890 in the midst of well-populated and productive farmland led to an initial burst of commercial enterprises. The usual banks, general stores, drug and jewelry stores appeared. Some of these would naturally be housed in quickly erected-frame buildings, many of which were replaced by more substantial structures over the first few decades. Although few of the earliest survive, several of those built near the turn of the century created the downtown streetscape, the general outline of which does still exist today. Social & Cultural Development As the first settlers in the Wawanesa area established themselves in the years 1879-1884 three identifiable communities developed within a few kilometres of the current site of Wawanesa Millford, established in 1880 at the mouth of Oak Creek, close to the confluence of the Souris and Assiniboine Rivers was the first village south of the Assiniboine in western Manitoba. It was soon joined by Souris City on 17-7-17 just south of Wawanesa. During a time when dozens of speculative town sites were promoted during the Manitoba Boom of 1881-82, these two locations had the distinction of at least being inhabited and each indeed did have a selection of services for pioneers. Many other such “Great Cities of the Future” existed on paper only. To the north Rounthwaite also was well established by 1882 and boasted the first Anglican Church in southwestern Manitoba, an attractive building which is now located at the Sipiweski Museum in Wawanesa after many decades of service. In most Manitoba communities, the “Establishment” era is defined by the replacement of “Pioneer” log, sod and rough lumber buildings by more ambitious constructions of milled lumber. With that definition in mind the town Wawanesa can be said to have had a very short Pioneer stage, as much of the town was created overnight as buildings were moved from the previous location just up the river or built quickly from materials readily available via the new rail line. Many of these building were substantial but few survive today. Within a few years they were supplanted and replaced by more ambitious structures reflecting the beginning of the Establishment phase. The Consolidation period can be said to have started in about 1898 with the erection of the Story Block, followed quickly by the Wawanesa Mutual Building, both of which survive today. It was in that period that many fine homes, of frame and brick construction, some near the core area but others on the perimeter. Owned by community leaders with names like Story, Jackson and Vanstone, several of these buildings have been well cared for and survive intact. |