On the edge of the lot where this quaint country church in the Rural Municipality of Rosser sits is a fieldstone monument commemorating the settlers of the Grosse Isle area. During the Red River Flood of 1852, settlers from Fort Garry came by boat and cart to “The Strong Hill” two miles south of the present village. They brought their cattle with them and they camped for six weeks on the “Gros-Isle” until the flood waters receded. A few years later, in 1860, the first permanent dwelling was built by William Inkster at NE12-13-1 west of the Principal Meridian. In 1904, the Canadian Northern Railway station was erected and named “Grosse Isle” in memory of the sanctuary the area had offered to the refuges of the “Great Flood” fifty years before.
The church building has been moved to the Grosse Isle Museum. The monument was gone at the time of a 2023 site visit.
Grosse Isle United Church before removal to the Grosse Isle Museum (August 2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Grosse Isle United Church at the Grosse Isle Museum (May 2023)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Grosse Isle settlers commemorative monument (August 2010)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.06404, W97.44513
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Grosse Isle Museum (Grosse Isle, RM of Rockwood)
We thank Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and George Penner.
Page revised: 28 October 2023
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