SELKIRK, MANITOBA, CANADA

The presence of the Red River has always been felt in the daily life of the town now known as Selkirk. Before there was a settlement, the Red River provided a route for the natives and then the voyageurs to get to Lake Winnipeg and to the forks of the Assiniboine River.

The first vessels to ply goods and transport people along the Red were the canoes used by the natives and voyageurs (fur traders). These were replaced by York boats with ox carts as the land conveyance. After the Anson Northrup steamboat proved that it could navigate the shallow river and rapids, other steamships soon followed.

Early Settlement
Selkirk was first known as The Indian Settlement because the natives settled along the banks of the Red. In the early days of settlement, the area of land where the Red River makes a wide swing to the East at the southern limits of the present day City of Selkirk was known as Sugar Point because of the maple trees that grew there.

Transportation
After Manitoba became a Province in 1870, all eyes turned to the Federal government in anticipation of the first transcontinental railroad, which was promised in 1871.

According to 1871 Canadian Pacific Railway Royal Commission documents, Sanford Fleming, the engineer who determined the route of the railway, chose Selkirk as the location for a bridge because:

• The banks were high; therefore the railway bridge would not be susceptible to floods
• There were more than 1,000 acres of government land adjacent to the River available-the only such block that was not either privately owned or in the possession of the Hudson Bay Company.
• The river was deep, making this a logical place for the boat traffic from Lake Winnipeg to connect with the trains.
• The inlet known as Colville Landing, on the east side of the river, could be reached by a short branch from the main rail line providing a safe spot for wintering vessels...the Hudson Bay Company had used it for that purpose for years.

At the time of the railroad construction, Winnipeg had a population of about 2,000. Selkirk's population of 400 was growing and property values rose fueled by speculation based on the anticipation of the prosperity that railway would bring to the town. A political struggle ensued between Selkirk and Winnipeg and in June of 1881, Winnipeg met the demands of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, which determined that the bridge would be built in Winnipeg.

St. Peter's Reserve was established after 1871 just north of Selkirk on both sides of the River. The land along the Red between Selkirk and Winnipeg was divided into strips-river lots-running away from the river. The pattern of these lots can still be seen from the air. During the early 1870's Selkirk on the West Slough and Colville Landing on the East Slough competed for shipping business along the Red. The Selkirk rail spur line to the Red River combined with the construction of a sawmill on the Selkirk Slough led to Selkirk's dominance in shipping along the Red River.

Commerce
The town of Selkirk was incorporated in 1882 and had to content itself with the construction of a branch line from Winnipeg in 1883. Recovering from the disappointment of losing the Canadian Pacific Railroad bridge, the town rebounded. New business spurred by the branch line led to home construction, the beginning of a town newspaper and in 1884, the regions' first Mental Health Centre, known as the Asylum.

The years from 1883 to 1910 saw Selkirk become a busy river port. Cordwood was cut and hauled by shallow draught vessels to Winnipeg to be sold as fuel for furnaces in buildings or to power steam engines. When Winnipeg businessmen realized that dressed lumber brought more money, bush camps were set up along the Lake Winnipeg to cut trees, then the logs were floated to Selkirk in huge rafts complete with shacks to shelter the men and sails for power. These rafts were guided into the slough, taken apart and the logs dressed in one of the several saw mills located along the banks. The dressed lumber was used to build homes, for railway ties for the Canadian Pacific Railroad and to serve the boat building industry that had sprung up to provide boats for the fishing industry.

From the 1880's through the 1960's, the commercial fishing industry has been an important factor in the life of Selkirk. Several large companies built docks and buildings for cleaning the fish and for the production of fish oil. Icehouses were also constructed so that the fish could be preserved during shipping.

Today
Early Selkirk businessmen saw the Red River as an asset and promoted its use for both commercial and recreational purposes. Although the transcontinental railway changed forever the transportation of people and goods across the prairie, the Red is in demand for recreational use by fishermen, boaters, and cruise ships. Picnickers and campers take advantage of the riverside facilities provided by Selkirk Park including a swimming pool, boat launch, rodeo and exhibition area, playground and a Ducks Unlimited marsh/wildlife area. The Marine Museum of Manitoba is situated at the entrance to the park, allowing visitors to see for themselves some of the ships that sailed the lake and the Red River in days gone by.

View the Selkirk Photo Gallery.