A town the CPR waxed & waned

The small, peaceful village of East Selkirk spreads across the landscape on the east side of Red River, 20 miles north of the city of Winnipeg. The village is currently home to numerous family dwellings, Happy Thought School, the R.M of St. Clements central office and Fire Hall, a few retail outlets, one hotel, and several remnants of its deep-rooted history.

Over two centuries ago, a Scottish nobleman by the name of Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, aided hundreds of impoverished Highlanders in their plight to escape the horrors of eviction in their beloved homeland of Scotland. Several ships sailed those immigrants to the shores of North American where several hundred would continue their journey to the forks of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. In genuine appreciation, the settlers borrowed Douglas’s title, “Selkirk,” to name the small settlement growing on the banks of Red River between the settlements of St. Peters and Little Britain.

Prior to the arrival of Selkirk’s settlers, the settlement of Selkirk began with several Saulteaux/Ojibwa, Swampy Cree, and Métis families. The Saulteaux/Ojibwa peoples came from the Great Lakes area and the Swampy Cree peoples originated in more northern communities near Hudson Bay. The Metis families, a distinct group of people with both Native American and European ancestry, were by and large born to the area. These groups initially lived in tents and wigwams made from tree poles and stretched animal skins but by the 1820s, most families progressed to building log houses. The community of Selkirk grew outwards from the Red River on both banks, and in time the directions of east and west were applied to the developing settlements.

Travellers came to the area via the Red River. The major nineteenth century mode of transportation included the watercraft ~ canoe, York boat, steamships, and paddlewheels. Canoes and York boats were the sole source of water vessels until 1859 when the Anson Northup, a 75-ton steamer, made her debut down the Red River. The steamer docked at the mouth of Cook’s Creek for three years. In the winter of 1861/62 she sank at that location.

The community grew rapidly. By the 1870s many influential businessmen and their families purchased land in the area. They knew the transcontinental railway was reaching westward and Selkirk was the proposed spot for the rail line to cross the Red River. In 1872 Sir Sanford Fleming, the Father of Standard Time, arrived in Selkirk to survey the area. Fleming confirmed Selkirk was a good spot for a bridge, as its high riverbanks would protect the bridge from destructive floodwaters. The people of Winnipeg disagreed with Fleming’s decision and desired the railway to run through their own growing town. They pressured the Dominion Government and the Canadian Pacific Railway to cross at Winnipeg. In 1881 they agreed, and the rail line went south; many of East Selkirk’s residents went with it. The community then experienced a significant decrease in its population and business. The community never again thrived the same as it had before the much-anticipated arrival of the CPR.

In 1878, in anticipation of the proposed railway crossing, a Roundhouse was built south of Colvile Road (Frank St). The stone building measured 90 ft by 180 ft ~ built large enough to house the Engine for maintenance and repair. When the rail line diverted to Winnipeg, the building went unused as a Round House and sat vacant for many years.

In 1881 the Hudson’s Bay Company built a shipping wharf and warehouse in the east slough at the mouth of Cook’s Creek. They named it Colvile Landing in honor of Eden Colvile, the Governor of the Company at the time. The HBC built a large steamer of the same name to haul goods from the wharf to northern ports along the shores of Lake Winnipeg. It plied the waters of the great inland sea for over twenty years. In 1894 fire destroyed the vessel at Grand Rapids.

East Selkirk incorporated in 1883. For the next two decades the community experienced a substantial increase in population from peoples fleeing their poverty-stricken homelands of Central and Eastern Europe. Thousands of immigrants journeyed from Europe to Eastern Canada hoping to find a better life for themselves and their families. The government developed a scheme to increase the population in the west sending thousands of people westward by train. After they arrived in Winnipeg, thousands were directed to East Selkirk where they were temporarily housed in the old CPR Round House. Beginning in 1899 East Selkirk became home to thousands of Doukhabors and Galacians. The families obtained land and spread throughout the province of Manitoba. Many families in the East Selkirk area became vegetable farmers.

By 1906 the Round House was no longer used for immigration purposes. Between the years of 1906 to 1916 it functioned as a summer dance hall and a winter skating rink. It was demolished in 1916. Some of its stone was used to build the newly constructed Happy Thought School – stone building.

The settlements of East and West Selkirk were always separated by the Red River. During the nineteenth century people paddled a canoe or boat across the river when they wished to visit the other side. A Ferry transported people and livestock from one side of the river to the other in the mid to later part of the nineteenth century. The ferry stayed in operation until the fall of 1936.

With the arrival of the twentieth century came a new mode of transportation ~ the automobile. People were travelling more and wanted easier access across the river. In 1931 local community and government developed a plan to build a bridge across the Red River joining East and West Selkirk at an estimated cost of $300,000.00. No one realized at that time how difficult it would be to raise the funds. The depression hit and money was scarce for everyone including the government. It took another six years before the bridge became a reality. The bridge became fully serviceable by the fall of 1936, and still connects East and West Selkirk today.

Article written by Donna G. Sutherland
St. Clements Heritage Advisory Committee - 04/12/04