Manitoba Communities: Melita (Town)

Link to:
Population | Mayors / Reeves | Memorable Manitobans | Historic Sites | History Books | Maps | Contact Information | Sources

When this community was established in the 1880s, it was proposed to be named Manchester. However, this name was already taken by another community in Canada so postal officials refused a request to establish a second post office with the same name. A local Sunday School Superintendent proposed the name of Melita based on the island on which the apostle Paul was shipwrecked and this name was accepted.

Present Status

Town of Melita (15 May 1906)

Incorporation History

Village of Melita (15 May 1902)

Adjoining Municipalities

Two Borders

Land Area (square km)

3.04

Population

Year

Total

1906

784

1911

690

1916

834

1921

676

1926

649

1931

719

1936

560

1941

591

1946

659

1951

781

1956

926

1961

1038

1966

1101

1971

1132

1976

1169

1981

1156

1986

1239

1991

1134

1996

1152

2001

1111

2006

1051

2011

1069

2016

1042

2021

1041

Mayors

Term

Mayor

1902

John Lorne Campbell (1856-1933)

1902-1903

Thomas Charles Bulloch (1866-1949)

1903-1904

C. P. Estlin

1904-1905

J. T. McCallum

1905-1906

James Graham Cheyne (1861-1912)

1906-1907

Thomas Dickson Sturgeon (1852-1932)

1907-1912

Robert Mowbray Graham (1851-1932)

1912-1913

Robert Simpson

1913-1916

George Stewart

1916-1918

David Lamont (1876-1946)

1918-1919

Richard John Dobbyn (1850-1950)

1919-1920

William John Cobb

1920-1922

David Lamont (1876-1946)

1922-1923

W. J. Graham

1923-1925

James Wesley Hewitt (1876-1941)

1925-1927

L. S. Arnold

1927-1929

F. H. Schnell

1929-1940

David Lamont (1876-1946)

1940-1949

Harry L. Morrow

1949-1951

William G. Sterling

1951-1953

Harry L. Morrow

1953-1959

John Gordon “Jack” Cobb (1903-1959)

1959-1965

W. G. Powne

1965-1969

Richard R. “Dick” Filteau (1920-2013)

1969-1971

D. F. Loucks

1971-1980

Gerald D. Morrow

1980-2001

Kenneth Donald Carels (1938-2005)

2001-2005

Ron Nestibo

2005-2006

?

2006-2014

Robert F. “Bob” Walker

2014-?

William “Bill” Holden

Memorable Manitobans

Search the MHS collection of biographies for ones connected to Melita:

Custom Search

Historic Sites

Go here for a list of historic sites in Melita.

History Books

Go here for a list of history books for Melita.

Photos & Maps

Postcard view of Melita

Postcard view of Melita (circa 1906)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2015-0018

Sources

Our First Century: Town of Melita and Municipality of Arthur, Melita-Arthur History Committee, 1983, Manitoba Legislative Library F5648.A78.

Geographic Names of Manitoba, Manitoba Conservation, 2000.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 30 January 2024