Manitoba was created by the proclamation of the Manitoba Act on 15 July 1870. Near this site in the village of Mariapolis, in the Rural Municipality of Lorne, was the original western boundary of a province that measured 130 miles (209 kilometres) east to west and 110 miles (177 kilometres) south to north with an area of 13,924 square miles (36,073 square kilometres). Its size and shape gave it the nickname “The Postage Stamp Province”. The boundaries were extended in 1881 and 1912, in the latter case to the present ones.
A plaque commemorating the Manitoba boundaries was erected in 2006 by the Manitoba Heritage Council. Another nearby monument commemorates the centenary of the organization of Mariapolis, on 11 March 1891. Originally, the town was to be named Saint Marie. However, the Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railway which established the local line in 1890 indicated it would prefer a name without the Saint prefix. The parish priest at Saint Alphonse, Father Telesphore Campeau, proposed Marieapolis and, over the years, the E was dropped to become Mariapolis.
Postage Stamp Province plaque at right and Mariapolis pioneers monument at left (October 2011)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Mariapolis pioneers commemorative monument (June 2020)
Source: George Penner
Postage Stamp Province plaque (June 2020)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.36158, W98.99084
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Postage Stamp Province 1870 (RM of St. Clements)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Postage Stamp Province 1870 (Gladstone, Municipality of WestLake-Gladstone)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Postage Stamp Province 1870 (Lac du Bonnet)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Postage Stamp Province 1870 (Mariapolis, Municipality of Lorne)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Postage Stamp Province 1870 (Municipality of Louise)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Postage Stamp Province 1870 (Municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Postage Stamp Province 1870 (RM of Piney)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Postage Stamp Province 1870 (Prospect Street, Winnipeg Beach)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Northern Manitoba Plaque (Northern Manitoba)
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and George Penner.
Page revised: 13 June 2021
Historic Sites of Manitoba
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