The Treesbank area was home to the
Criddle family. Percy Criddle settled three miles north of the ferry
site in 1882. He brought with him his wife and their four children, as
well his former mistress, Elise Vane, and her / their four
children. Today their graves rest in a small family plot hidden
among
the evergreens on the abandoned farm site. (Now Criddle / Vane
Provincial Park)
Percy was a well educated English
gentleman
whose entire family carried on his interest in the sciences,
specifically the local flora and fauna. While trying (and at times
failing) to provide for his family as a farmer, he spent his spare time
in his pastimes which included, writing, composing music, playing the
organ, astronomy, cricket, tennis, medicine, local government, and
occasionally, keeping an eye on the neigborhood's pretty young ladies.
The Criddle and Vane families.
He strongly advocated that a bridge be
built
over the Assiniboine, but it took 80 years for the Highways Department
to concur. A book by his granddaughter entitled
"Criddle-De-Diddle-ensis" is a frank look at the man an his remarkable
family. A more recent volume, "For Elise" by Elise Vane's
great-grandaughter tells the story from that family's perspective.
The area near the mouth of the Souris
river
was an important junction. Peter Fidler, who at one time managed
Brandon House, reported in 1822 that there was an "abundance of
sturgeon" in the Souris River at it's mouth. (p.79 Clarke)
Near the end of the 19th century a post
office was located the south west corner of the junction of the Souris
and
the Assiniboine called Souris Mouth. The Two Rivers School and
Sidney Upper's store were on the north side of the Assinibline.
The Stockton Ferry is the last operational
ferry in southern Manitoba. Village of Old Stockton was moved to it's
present location in 1891 because no rail line had been built to it's
original location. It is about a mile south of the river and the
Brandon Sun reported that "the stream at this point has considerable
fall: the banks are also favourable for building a water power plant.
It is one of the best locations for a grist mill in Manitoba..." Such
predictions were typical of the optimism of the times.
