East Selkirk

1. East Selkirk

2. Where Is It? • East Selkirk is a small village on the east side of the Red River. • This village has many houses, Happy Thought School, East Selkirk Middle School, the R.M of St. Clements central office and Fire Hall, one restaurant, and a post office. East Selkirk

3. First Nations • Before the Selkirk settlers arrived, Selkirk was a home to several Salteaux/Ojibwa, Swampy Cree, and Métis families. • The Salteaux/Ojibwa peoples came from the Great Lakes and the Swampy Cree peoples came from around Hudson's Bay. • The Métis families included people with both Native American and European parents. • These groups lived in tents and wigwams made from tree poles and stretched animal skins. • By the 1820s they lived in log houses.

4. TheSelkirkSettlers • The Scottish settlers came after. • Thomas Douglas, the 5th Earl of Selkirk, was a Scottish nobleman. • A long time ago peasants in Scotland were kicked off their land so the rich people could farm sheep. • Lord Selkirk helped these poor people find new homes in North America. • These new immigrants named their town after Lord Selkirk. Lord Selkirk

5. Building a Town The town grew quickly. A lot of important business people had moved here because a train track was supposed to cross the river at Selkirk. The businessmen wanted to become rich from the railway. Sir Sanford Fleming Why Here? Sir Sanford Fleming was the man who chose Selkirk as a spot for the railway to cross the river. He chose this spot because it didn’t flood here.

6. Why isn’t the railway in Selkirk today? At the last minute the railway moved south to Winnipeg. Winnipeg offered more money to build a bridge across the Red River. When the train tracks went to Winnipeg, so did the businessmen. A lot of people moved away.

7. Famous Buildings • In 1878 the government of Canada built the East Selkirk Roundhouse. • This building was built to fix the train’s engine. • It was never used because the trains went to Winnipeg instead. • In 1881 the Hudson’s Bay Company built a harbour called Colville Landing. • It was at the mouth of Cook’s Creek. • A steamship called the SS Colville picked up supplies here and moved them all over the place.

8. Traveling on the Water • Travelers came here on the Red River. • The came in canoes, York boats, steamships, and paddlewheels. • The Anson Northup was the first steamship on the Red River. • The steamer stopped at the mouth of Cook’s Creek for three years. Then it sank. The Anson Northup

9. Immigration • East Selkirk became a town in 1883. • Many people moved here from Eastern Europe. • They were starving and didn’t have a home. • They hoped to find a better life in Canada.

10. Immigration… • When they arrived in Canada they were sent to the East Selkirk Roundhouse. • The Roundhouse was made into an Immigration Shed. This was a first home for people moving here. • Thousands of Doukhabors and Galacians came. Many families near East Selkirk became vegetable farmers. • The Roundhouse was used until 1906. • Eventually it was torn down and some of the stone was used to help build the old Happy Thought School.

11. The Ferry System • The towns named East and West Selkirk were separated by the Red River. • Most people used canoes to cross the river but that couldn’t move very much. • A ferry was built to move a lot of people and animals from one side of the river to the other. • The ferry stayed open until the Selkirk Bridge was built. East Selkirk Ferry

12. East Selkirk/Selkirk Bridge • Something bigger than a ferry was needed to cross the river. • A lot of people had cars and wanted to drive across. Everyone decided that a bridge should be built. • The Selkirk bridge was built in 1936. • We still use the same bridge today. Automobiles in front of East Selkirk Hall

13. This presentation brought to you by the St. Clements Heritage Advisory Committee! - “preserving our community’s heritage one story at a time” - Presentation Created by Jared Laberge Information Compiled by Donna Sutherland The End