I can’t count the number of times that while driving westward along Highway #2 near Wawanesa I’ve taken a brief glance southwards as I crossed the bridge and thought, “That looks interesting.”  You only have time to catch a glimpse of a steep cutbank cliff and the winding river that brushes against it, a mere hint of a wild looking landscape. You get another glimpse as you crest the hill and, for most of us, that’s all you see. We’re all busy. We’ve got places to go.

Where you to stop at the western rim of the valley, as I did one day, you will be surprised to find out how easy it is to get a much better view. A conveniently placed crossing offers a road allowance south from Highway #10 that you might mistake for a lane to a farmyard. The road ends abruptly, and indeed does lead to the entrance of private lane, but it is a public road allowance, and there, a few hundred metres from a busy highway, if you get out of your car and walk a few steps you will be rewarded with a river valley view that can only be described as panoramic.

As you will see, the Souris River takes a dramatic S-curve before speeding under the highway bridge and twisting its way to Wawanesa.  If you take a close look you will see for yourself how the river, as it turns from one side of the deep valley to the other, has carved steep bank when it hits the a valley wall leaving a wide level valley bottom in between. There on the ‘flats’ was the village of Souris City, a tiny but important nucleus of settlement existed for a brief time in the 1880's until the railways routes were finally settled and Wawanesa came into being. 

At its birth Souris City was one of many speculative “cities” that came with the Manitoba Land Boom of 1881-82. This spot perfectly captures a view of the entire flats, the dream and the reality that was Souris City.

The survey plan, which was ambitious even for these times of wild speculation, included parts of to sections of land and planned lots on both sides of the river. (W17.7.17 and E17.7.17.), but the actual settlement was in the southwest corner of that deep loop in the river, and at its best was a somewhat scattered village with its buildings strung out along the river bank. [1]

The gamblers in this case were William Scott and his son William J.  They arrived sometime after October 1880 and bought land from the CPR. Details are hazy but we do know that a survey of the town site was prepared by J.W.Vaughan, and registered Nov. 14, 1881. The Scotts then sold all their land to the Manitoba and Nor’West Land Co. Ltd of which they were major shareholders. . [2] The company soon became the Toronto, Manitoba and North West Co. Early in 1882 the Winnipeg Daily Sun reports that, ”Mr. Scott, Manager of the Toronto and Manitoba Northwest Land Company, sold last evening by private sale $1100 worth of lots in Souris City.” The next month an ad offered 320 acres adjacent to Souris City for sale. [3]

Before the establishment of the town, the area was referred to as the "Elliot Settlement" after a family that had moved to the area in 1879 and were well established farmers by 1880. Millford pioneer Alex Reid refers to them in his letters of that year, interestingly mentioning their plan to put a small steamer on the Souris River to bring up freight from Millford Landing or Souris Mouth. [3A] The Elliot name, in fact outlasted the Souris City as it was given new life in the form of "Elliot's Siding" a stop on the the railway that eventually arrived.

Thanks to a Winnipeg Daily Times report from September 25, 1882 we have a concise summary of how the place looked then. Mr. J.S. McKay, Presbyterian missionary to the area provides a detailed account of his region in which he refers to Souris City as, “a somewhat pretentious place” consisting of “ a saw and grist mill, two stores, hotel, five private residences, a blacksmith shop, and several tents.” He goes on to extol the agricultural potential of the region, to bemoan the fact that although there were “ten Presbyterian families and about a dozen young men,” they were  “very careless” about church attendance. He should be forgiven if he seems to regard the local Methodists with a somewhat jealous eye, as he notes that they are in the majority and that they “have service every day”.  His services were conducted every fortnight in Mr. Harrison’s store, and he appreciated that the storekeeper, a Methodist incidentally, made it available. He concludes the Souris City portion of his report by allowing that, Should a railway be constructed through it, Souris City may come to be an important place.”

All this and more under the headline. “The March of Christianity”, amply subheaded with the following: “Through the Fertile Valleys of the Little and Great Souris, One of the Finest Framing Districts in the Whole Northwest, Increasing Value of the lands…”Men Growing Rich While They Sleep”. They knew how to write headlines in those days!  [4]



The grist mill, which was steam powered, was located along the river bank on the east side of the flats. [5] Local farmers had been hauling grain to Millford for this purpose, and for farmers to the southeast the trip to Souris City was shorter and over an easier trail. Some local histories speculate that this mill is one and the same with the Gregory Mill located a few miles upstream, but a report in the Brandon Sun in 1889 contains explicit references to both mills. [6] The likelihood is that the mill at Souris City was not nears as large an operation as Mr. Gregory’s and served a purely local need.

Other businesses thrived as well. A brickyard was established by Mssrs. Freek and Coupland. It was located on the escarpment, past the northern limits of the village, and produced a low quality type of brick used for the lining of wells.  Some decades ago, heavy trucks hauling gravel out of a pit now located alongside the old trail exposed bricks from the old brickyard site and shards were still visible on the trail when I last walked it in 2005. A Mr. John Harris found his niche in the manufacture of axe and hammer handles.   A local settler, James (Jabez?) Elliott, who had been selling a few provisions out of his home opened a store in the new town.  Mail service was soon established and the details are interesting for two reasons.  For one thing the location of early postal stations remind us how things have changed.


By 1884 the holdings of the “Toronto Company” which included the townsite was managed by newcomer Thomas Nichol. [7]

Today, south of Brandon the most obvious major centres would be Souris and Wawanesa.  In those days the mail came by stage along a route that stopped at Rounthwaite, Millford, and Two Rivers.  Neighbouring “post settlements” included Carrolton, Hayfield and Strathhearne.  Anyone predicting which settlements would lead the coming rural economic boom would have likely focused on Souris City and Millford.

The other interesting thing about mail service is its importance to the naming of settlements.  The Dominion Government would assign post offices and direct the post master in the task of establishing names.  The government idea was to assign historic, often native names to post offices.  The local idea was often to name them after the postmaster.

 
In the case of Souris City, it happened that the name was already taken by a settlement south of Melita, so the name Sourisbourg was used.  Then the Indian word Wawonaissa (whipoorwill) became the official name.  Finally, in 1884, Souris City could be used because the original Souris City had been abandoned.  This did cause a bit of an identity problem.  Even the first store in town was unsure of what to call itself, opting for "Sourisburg."


That Souris City was considered a central point is further shown by the fact that a second mail route was established from Souris City to Langvale and points south.  Its total population at its peak was fifty four, but that was no indicator of its importance to the surrounding neighborhood.  By 1882, the nearby Elliot settlement contained about fifteen farmers, each with over 100 acres under cultivation.  Not only were many settlers coming, but they were breaking land quickly and buying recently invented farm equipment so as to improve production.


By 1883, when a series of Farmer’s Conventions were held in three locations across the province, one of those locations was Souris City [8] The topic, as it invariably was when farmers gathered was the government  and how they understood about the settlers’ needs. 

Much of what we do know comes from newspaper reports.  We know that a school was operating.  We know that the village’s second schoolteacher, Edmund Batty, shot himself in the upper arm while getting out of a wagon on Oct. 10, 1884, leaving a wife and five children. [9] A doctor from Brandon summoned but he had lost too much blood and died the next day.   We know that churches were established and that they for some time shared the services of Mr. Hall, the Methodist minister from Millford.  In fact at one revival meeting he is said to have read a passage from Revelations which induced a mother of eight to “confess” a “mishap in her childhood” on the Isle of Skye 30 years earlier.  Her husband kicked her out and she was soon found to be working in a Brandon Hotel. [10]

We know that the first recorded death in the new community was that of a young Englishman named Aborn, employed by the brickyard.  He drowned one Sunday morning while swimming in the river.  The site of his grave is uncertain but the grave of a Stuart Robertson and his wife is marked by a tombstone in the southwest corner of SE17.7.17. [11]  We don’t know if that was the official graveyard or if, as was common, people had their own “private” cemeteries - which is a way of saying they buried them in the back yard.

The Souris City region had its share of notable citizens and characters as befitting a settlement of its regional importance.

Noted early settler Jabez Elliott’s  store was listed as “one and a half  storeys high, with cellar” in 1884  when he offered to sell it or trade for a farm. (At that time the address was Souris City, Sourisburg. P.O.  The Oakland Municipality elections of 1884 saw Richard Kinsley Esq. of Souris City, returned as a Reeve. That same year a Miss Nichol was advertising her skills as a “first class dress maker”. In 1889 Dr. H. Aubrey Husband in the spirit of helpful citizenship, wrote a letter to the Brandon Sun warning parents against “a mist dangerous practice, far too common in this country, of administering to young children indiscriminate doses of laudanum and other preparations of opium.” A Mr. A, Williamson had an illustrated catalogue advertising his stock which had “no superior on this continent...” and inviting people to call in at his farm which he called “Penketh” [12]

Another local of widespread fame was “Prof” Alfred Grainger.” It seems Mt. Grainger was a somewhat mysterious figure who fro a period made his living as an itinerant music teacher, traveling from settlement to settlement with a portable piano demonstration keyboard, offering instruction. He is mentioned in news reports from the area, often in connection with a Concert or Musical Evening. The Sun noted in 1888 that “ ‘Lovely Souris River’ is the title of a new work for the piano forte and violin composed by Prof. Alfred Grainger, of Souris City.” [13]

According to one local historian Mr. Granger came from England and was discovered as it were working as a farm hand in Millford. He plyed his trade throughout the 1890's then disappeared until the 1920’s and later disappeared again for good.   [14]

The initial boom did not last and by 1883 this part of Manitoba was battling both poor crops and a recession. The real estate bubble had burst but life went on for the determined settlers who were here and decided, rightly so it would appear to ride out the bad times.


As it has ever been, school finances were an issue, and even though the teacher salary was $50 a month, school closed for lack of funds in April 28 1883.  This was worse than it seems because school was more of a summertime thing in those days.  Apparently it opened again later that summer. [15]

Indeed it is interesting to speculate on what would have happed to the established Manitoba towns like Souris City, Nelsonville, Millford and others if the recession and poor crops of 83-84 hadn’t dampened both immigration and income. Would some of the centres like Souris City have become so well established that it wouldn’t make sense to bypass them? Or would railways have continued the policy of the CPR in avoiding settlements so as to save money on land purchases and make more on increased value of the same land when it came time to sell? We’ll never know.

The businessmen in these early towns were very conscious of the importance of transportation links.  The problem with setting up town sites near rivers is that there is usually a need to get to the other side.  A pioneer from the Boissevain district remembered walking from Brandon to his home via Souris City because water was high and he could cross on the ferry there. This was in 1882.

Before the railway, the old trails were used for trips to markets grain in Brandon, for mail delivery and stagecoach service. Souris City’s position on a main trail depended upon having a river crossing. A bridge was a top priority. The first hastily-constructed one was washed out in 1884.  It had been built in 1882, evidently by the Souris City Co. the owners/managers of the townsite. This was before Oakland Municipality was established.  By 1884 the municipality was beginning to take responsibility for such things although a communication in the South Cypress News  mentions contacting the said company regarding s Ferry Cable. [16] It had been built at a substantial cost ($9000 according to local Mr. H.H. Saunderson, $30000 according to a report in the Winnipeg Daily Sun on the 27 of November 1882. Under a heading reading “The Bountiful Harvest, Two Hundred Thousand Bushels of Wheat Harvested at Souris City”, the report based apparently on interview with Mr. W. Freek who also reported that his brickyard had manufactured 150000 brick th at year. [17] Local legend has it that it was swept away by ice laden waters the evening before a government official was supposed to have presided over the Grand Opening.  In any case it didn’t last long and a ferry service was quickly reestablished.  It operated daily from six am until 8 pm, and the rate was 25 cents per team and 10 cents a pedestrian. (Return free of charge on same day, 6 am - 8 pm.) In 1884 Oakland council decided that they would “allow” the “Toronto Company” to put the bridge back subject to council supervision [18]  A notice in the Sun from March of 1885 reads; “In the matter of the Souris City bridge its control has been taken over by the Municipality of Oakland, pending a settlement of the cost of such care and maintenance between all the municipalities interested. [19]


While details regarding the building of bridges is sometimes uncertain we do know that it was the subject of much debate at the municipal government level.  Everyone agreed that a bridge was necessary but local taxpayers thought that the municipalities to the south that would benefit should foot some of the bill.


Nearby South Norfolk Municipality  was given notice that “they had removed the bridge over the Souris, at Souris City, and would not replace the same or make any provision for crossing at that point unless a portion of the cost be borne by this municipality.”  [20]

A new bridge with a removable span was built at some point.  The centre span could be removed during spring breakup to avoid destruction.  It was, however, costly to maintain, and as far as we know the settlers to the south didn’t pay any of the costs.  Oakland ratepayers paid an annual bridge bill until 1889.

By that time the writing was on the wall for the future of Souris City as a budding metropolis.  All the hopes of the townsite had rested on the possibility of a rail crossing.  The problems were twofold.  First; the CPR had a deal with the Canadian Government that no competing line would be allowed south of it’s main line for 25 years after the construction of that line.   This meant that they were in no hurry to satisfy the needs of smaller markets in newly settled areas.  Second; even if lines were constructed to the south there was no guarantee that the Souris City site would be chosen.  By 1886 only three or four businesses remained.

That the railway didn’t come quickly to this part of the province wasn’t for lack of effort and imagination. There were various efforts at convincing government to act, various proposals for rail lines.

In 1884 with a good crop and surplus grain piling up the settlers were becoming quite concerned. Thomas Nichol of Souris City, presumably on behalf of “The Toronto Company” (Souris City town site owners) offered to supply the rails if the municipalities of Oakland and Cornwallis would do the grading for a railway from Brandon to Souris City. The offer was not accepted.  [24]

Another proposal was the Brandon Souris and Rock Lake line. The first mention I find of it is in a Nov. 22, 1884 edition of the Winnipeg Daily Sun, where they report on what looks like an organizational meetings held in Millford and Souris City.  Among the directors of the proposed enterprise were T. Greenway the M.M. P. from Crystal City who would change local railway history more definitively a few years later when he gave up Federal Politic and became the Premire. Other directors were representatives from various affected communities like R. Kinsley (sic) from Souris City and Alex Reid from Millford. T. Mayne Daly of Brandon was solicitor. These folks were the prominent people of the area. [21]

An editiorial in the Sun in 1886 gets behind this, as it generally did when it came to boosting the region.  It bemoans the lack of action. “We were hopeful that assurances would have been afforded, before this, that it was the intention to provide railway facilities for Millford, Souris City and Plum Creek districts this season” and goes on to extol the virtues of the regions settlers and wonder what they would have accomplished if given decent transportation for their crops. [22] (BSN 080486)


The Rock Lake line didn’t get underway in 1886 but there is a notice dated Jan. 3 in the Sun to the effect that “an application will be made at the next Session of Parliament for an Act to incorporate the Brandon, Souris City and Rock Lake Railway”  which was to run from Brandon through to the US border. [23]

But still there was hope. In June of 1886 Mr. D. McKinley of the district was reporting to the Sun that engineers were at work “endeavoring to locate the extension of the C.P.R. Southwestern. It is hoped that they may be successful in carrying the line through the district…”  [24]

The railway problem, which ultimately spelled out its doom, did however bring Souris City into the provincial spotlight for a short period of time. 1884 saw the inauguration of the Oakland Branch of the Farmer’s Union.  The meeting was held at Souris City School and was well attended. The union, fueled in part by the depression that started with a dry year in 1883, initiated a fight for local rights.  There were two key issues.  One was a government policy of high agricultural product tariffs, which led to high machinery prices.  And the other was the monopoly of CPR.  Part of their platform included the “right of local government a to charter railways anywhere in Manitoba...”. [25]  Across the west there were feelings of dissatisfaction with the Federal Government - not entirely unrelated to the dissatisfaction of the Saskatchewan Metis that culminated in the Rebellion of 1885.  There was the feeling, quite justified, that the Federal Government, far off in Ottawa, didn’t understand or care much about the prairie settlers. There were declarations of rights, subtle and not-so-subtle threats of succession, and even appeals to Queen Victoria.
     
One issue was resolved when, in 1888, the newly elected provincial government under Premier Thomas Greenway, was able to break the CPR monopoly.   That was the beginning of a crucial time in the history of Souris City and district.

Earlier, on April of 1888, the line was not even on paper yet. The Sun reported that “An application will be made…to build an operate a line of railway from or near the city of Brandon, thence in a southeasterly direction, crossing the Souris River at or near Souris City….[26]

By April 25 of 1889 the Sun under the heading “The Line Located” was reporting that tenders for construction of the line had been invited and that the route from Morris to Souris City had been set. As we will see, apparently the actual site of the crossing was either not settled or not made public. It is interesting to note that all along the line new towns were about to be created, but at this point the old names prevailed. Dry River, Otenaw and Craigilea are on the route, their counterparts, Greenway, Baldur and Belmont aren’t mentioned as they don’t yet exist.  [27]

Here it is important to reflect on the nature of the rural “villages. When someone said they were from Souris City, they didn’t necessarily mean the “village” of Souris City, in that same way, when I was growing up I said I was from Baldur without feeling the need to say “ a farm near Baldur”.  When the Sun reported that the rail line would cross the Souris a Souris City, I’m sure no one took it for granted that this meant that the rail line would cross at precisely that point where the small village happened to be.

On the 11 of July, as a “Big Picnic” was being planned to celebrate the end of the monoploy and the coming of a railway link, a reporter notes that: “Things are becoming serious here at present, and there is considerable speculation as to where the town will be located.” [28] The wording is interesting. There is no assumption that the crossing will be at the village. What would it really matter? There were only a few buildings there. To the vast majority of the regions inhabitants, the important thing was that they were getting a rail line. End of story.

The twelfth of September brings a report that the new station “at Souris City: will be called “Sippawisk”. [29] On the 31 of October we begin to learn those new names, some of which are still with us today, some not. Greenway, Belmont, Hilton come into being. The town of Wawnesa is reported as being “principal to the Souris City townsite. ”. [30]  It was in fact 3 kilometres to the northeast. But close enough for many.

Between Wawanesa and Brandon we learn of McNaught (Rounthwaite) and Martin. Martin  (Martinville) didn’t last long, Rounthwaite still has a few buildings on the townsite.

A big celebration, which the Brandon Sun reported as a “Monster” Picnic in their typically understated tones, was held in Souris City on August 1, 1889.  The Sun claimed that 2000 people attended. The Premier was the guest of honor.  A follow-up article in the Sun under the heading “They Have the People’s Gratitude” was glowing in its portrayal of Mr. Greenway and his government for their efforts to end the monopoly and it is assumed, final address the needs of the rural communities. It notes that citizens would have “shown themselves in the last degree ungrateful if they had neglected to manifest the satisfaction they must have experienced in seeing so signal a victory achieved over their enemies and deceivers.  They recognized in Mr. Greenway and his colleagues the possession of courage, patriotism, persistence and honesty of purpose…” [31]

Before long the Northern and Pacific Railway had by this time nearly completed their new line from Morris to Brandon, but they decided to cross the river a few miles downstream.  The new town of Wawanesa came into being without a great deal of fanfare.  Home and business owners wasted no time. During the winter of 1890 most of the buildings were put on skids and dragged them to the new town of Wawanesa. By March of 1990 residents were expecting the railway to be in full operation by April. [32]

By the 28 of November we learn that the new town of Wawnesa is thriving and that locals are “looking for the opening of the N.P.&M railroad to carry away our grain. The road is likely to open for traffic this week”  [33]


Unlike several other towns in Westman that have slowly disappeared over decades, the demise of Souris City was swift and certain.  The municipality had already decided to cut some of the losses by dismantling the expensive bridge and using the parts in culvert construction programs at various points in the municipality.  Community focal points shifted to both the newly formed village of Wawanesa, and to the nearby local school / church district of Chelsea.

Interestingly this was not an occasion for sorrow or regret. In fact, by 1890 this had happened over and over again throughout western Canada. It was just a fact of life. Reports in Brandon Sun remark upon the birth of Wawanesa without mention of the demise of Souris City. It was really not a big deal. In a narrow sense the investors on the actual town site of Souris City might not have achieved their objectives, but the people of the district got what they wanted.

Mr. Nichol, while he never did see a “City” come out of the Souris City, did keep making the most of the situation. An ad from a June 2nd  1892 edition of the Sun has him selling 2100 acres of farmland, which he promoted as being “Within 2 ½ miles of 2 railway stations… with 4 elevators nearby. Souris River runs through the property.”  [34] So that is what became of Souris City!  His address was still Souris City and the other contact was Mr. W. H. Knowlton from Toronto, the same Mr. Knowlton who gave notice a few years earlier of the intention to form the Rock Lake, Souris City and Brandon Railway. [35]


As for the remnants of the townsite itself, a few buildings were put on skids and hauled down the river. The hotel had already been moved across the river and served for some time as a residence. In fact, as reports in the Brandon Sun indicate villages and towns were just not that important. In fact it was the railways that made town important. Before the rails country stores sprang up anywhere, like school and churches they were independent of a “village”, they served a region. Neighbourhoods, often centering on a school, were the focus of regional news. This isn’t surprising in that in those early days most of the population lived on farms.


Never the less, there were some hard feelings over the details. A local news report from 1890 highlights one problem:

“There is a general feeling of disapproval over the appointment of Mr. Wm. Foster to the position of postmaster here. He has nothing to recommend him beyond the fact of his being a Tory.” The writer wondered why Mr. Nichol, the who held the position at Souris City and was willing to move, should have got the job.  [36]

The site retained it attraction and even its identity, for some time. The Brandon Sun noted that the local Methodists were using the site for a picnic in 1894. [38] Now farmland and pasture, it is was known by locals as The Souris City Flats long after most signs of settlement had vanished. Clifford McFadden, a grandson of pioneer Richard Kinley, recalls berry picking there with his mother, and how she was able to point our where various dwellings and stores had been. [37]

Today, even people who have lived in the area all their lives are uncertain as to exact location of the original buildings, and no cairn marks the spot.   In 1969 J.A.D. Stuart, in researching his valuable history of the Oakland Municipality, found that nothing remained of the town save a few half filled cellars and the remains of bridge abutments.  Others mention an untended cemetery with about a dozen graves.  When I paddled by the site in a canoe in 1996 I found little to show for a town that played such an active roll in the development of the southwestern Manitoba.

The site is accessible only by river or by traveling through private farmland.  However, if you do find yourself on Highway #2 near Wawanesa, it is worth your while to stop on the upper west side of the valley, and take a look south.  It’s rough country with steep cliffs where the Souris has cut into the valley walls, and one of the most interesting spots, geologically and geographically in western Manitoba.   But, considering the importance of easy transportation links, perhaps it wasn’t the best place to build a town.


Bibliography

1. McFadden
, Clifford R.  Souris City, Manitoba Pageant , Winter 1972, Volume 17, Number 3
2. Stuart, J.A.D. ,  The Prairie W.A.S.P (A History of the Rural Municipality of Oakland Manitoba)  Prairie Publishing Company, Winnipeg, Mb
3. Winnipeg Daily Sun 20,02,82
3A. Alex Reid, Letters and Journal, Archives of Manitoba, Microfilm Ref. MG8 B61
4. Winnipeg Daily Times, September 25, 1882
5. Stuart  79
6. The Brandon Sun Weekly, 13,06,89
7 Stuart 164
8. Winnipeg Daily Sun 17,12,83
9.  Stuart 82
10. McClung, Nellie,  Clearing in the West, Thomas Allen, Toronto, 1935   134
11. Stuart 82
12. The Brandon Sun Weekly, 24,07,84 - 25,09,84 -  11,12,84 – 05,09,89 – 30,08,88
13. The Brandon Sun Weekly 19,07,88
14. Stuart 197
15. Stuart P129
16. The Brandon Sun Weekly 05,06,84
17. Winnipeg Daily Sun 27,11,82
18. Brandon Sun 12,04,84
19. The Brandon Sun Weekly 19,03,85
20.  Portage La Prairie Press 24,07,85
21. Winnipeg Daily Sun, 22,11,84
22. The Brandon Sun Weekly 080486
23. The Brandon Sun Weekly 140289
24. The Brandon Sun Weekly 17,06,86
25. Stuart 131
26. The Brandon Sun Weekly 19,04,88
27. The Brandon Sun Weekly 25,04,89
28. The Brandon Sun Weekly 11,07,89
29.The Brandon Sun Weekly 12,09,89
30. The Brandon Sun Weekly 31,10,89
31. The Brandon Sun Weekly 05,09,89
32. The Brandon Sun Weekly  27,03,90
33. The Brandon Sun Weekly  28,11,89
34. The Brandon Sun Weekly 02,09.92
35. The Brandon Sun Weekly 14,02,89
36. The Brandon Sun Weekly  27,03,90
37. The Brandon Sun Weekly  25,06,