Historic Sites of Manitoba: Nelson / Nelsonville Town Site (Nelsonville, RM of Thompson)

In 1878, Adam Nelson built a grist and saw mill on Shannon Creek marking the beginning of Nelson. The year 1882 saw Nelson an incorporated town of over 1,000 people. It was the judicial county seat for Dufferin County, and it had a land titles office, saw mill, grist mill, and cheese factory. Its weekly newspaper, The Mountaineer, was published from 1880 to 1884.

Nelson was on a regular stagecoach route to Miami, Lintrathen, Campbellville, Carman, Salterville, Warrington, Lowestoft (Roland), and Opawaka. It had Anglican, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches, and supported lodges of the Masons, Orange Order, IOOF, and Royal Templars of Temperance.

The Canadian Pacific Railway bypassed Nelson in 1883 and the people gradually moved their business places and homes to other locations, the majority going the Morden. One of the buildings abandoned at the site was the courthouse which, being a substantial brick structure, could not be moved. The last building was moved away in 1905. The community was later named Dunston. In 1958 this commemorative plaque was erected in memory of the pioneers under the auspices of the Dunston community.

Nelson commemorative monument (July 2010) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Nelson commemorative monument (June 2023) Source: Rose Kuzina Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.26665, W98.18175 denoted by symbol on the map above

Nelson Residents (1884)

This list of Nelson residents is drawn from the 1884 Henderson’s Directory and Gazetteer.

Resident	Occupation
James Aitkens	Contractor
Alan Joseph Adamson (1857-1928)	Farmer
E. M. Allen	Blacksmith (Allen & McIntyre)
Edward A. Bailey (1837-1918)	Editor
George Beasley	Plasterer (Brunsden & Beasley)
Walter Blanchard	Bailiff
J. T. Blowey	Furniture
James Rippoth Bonny (1850-1924)	Civil servant
Richard Brunsden	Plasterer (Brunsden & Beasley)
Con Clerihue	General store
James Clerihue	General store
George Cochrane
J. J. Cochrane	Deputy sheriff
William E. Cochrane	Shoemaker
C. F. Collins	Clerk of Carlton Municipality
J. Colpitts	Cleric
Thomas Seymour Coppinger (1860-1940)	General store (Meikle & Coppinger)
Thomas Duncan (c1850-1910)	Blacksmith
C. R. Dunsford	Banker
Albert Eaton	Real estate agent
David Ferguson	Carriage maker
Norton Flemming	Miller
John Fox	Contractor
James Hugh Fraser (c1927-1899)	Miller
Julius Frazelle Galbraith (1854-1934)	Publisher, Mountaineer
W. Garrett	Blacksmith
T. B. Godfrey	Hardware
W. M. Haley	General store (Haley & Sutton)
A. Harris	Agricultural implements (A. Harris & Son)
John Henderson Haverson (1854-1932)	Barrister
James Aaron Hobbs (1863-1932)	Pharmacist
Fremont Irwin	Agent
J. P. Irwin	Agent
G. J. Jackson	Photographer
Alexander Johns	Hotelkeeper (Johns Brothers)
M. C. Johns	Hotelkeeper (Johns Brothers)
Andrew Laughlin	Registrar
George Leary	Postmaster
H. S. Lemon	Barrister
Corbet Locke (1854-1932)	Barrister
G. T. Lundy	Hotelkeeper
H. B. Martin	Professor of music
James McCann	Bartender
Benjamin James McConnell (1861-1923)	Physician
John McGregor	Harness maker
H. McIntyre	Blacksmith
John Brown McLaren (1855-1916)	Barrister
Harry Meikle (1857-1931)	General store (Meikle & Coppinger)
William Morrison	Builder
Wilfred Pirt	Agent
Johnston Rinn	Livery stable
Joseph Rinn	Stage proprietor
M. B. Rombough, DLS	Land surveyor
George Ruddell	Carpenter
John Henry Ruddell (1859-1906)	Harness maker
William Hall Salts (1856-?)	Hotelkeeper
William Steele	Cabinet maker
W. J. Sutton	Banker (Haley & Sutton)
T. Underwood	Carriage maker
J. T. West	Watchmaker
James G. West	Auctioneer
David Henry Wilson (1855-1926)	Physician
Robert Wilson	Physician
T. N. Wilson	Cleric

See also:

A Manitoba Ghost Town by Hartwell Bowsfield
Manitoba Pageant, September 1956

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Nelsonville Cemetery (RM of Thompson)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Mountain City (RM of Stanley)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Dunston Community Hall (RM of Thompson)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Stephen Town Site (RM of Stanley)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Thomas Anglican Church (131 Eighth Street, Morden)

Sources:

A Sketch of Both Sides of Manitoba by Jeff Gee, 1981, page 134.

Henderson’s Manitoba and North-West Gazetteer and Directory, 1884. Manitoba Legislative Library.

“Judge Locke, aged Manitoba jurist, dies in Vancouver,” Winnipeg Free Press, 9 February 1932, page 10.

“Evacuation of Nelson” by Howard Winkler, Winnipeg Free Press, 7 May 1953, page 25.

“Cairn will mark site of Nelson,” Winnipeg Free Press, 4 June 1958, page 13.

We thank Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 11 September 2023

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