Overview
We have attempted to relate these site to the history of the region
through a series of short articles on:
1. Historic Claims of the area
2. Analysis Critera - Where sites fit
in terms of the Community
Heritage
3. Community Layout
4. Noteable People (See the Melita Notable People project)
The project is intended as a "Beginning" rather than a Finished
Product.
Local groups and individuals are invited to amend and add to it. New
information is always welcome and we will make every effort to add
anthing that is sent to us.
One goal is to collect as much information about Melitas older
buildings as we can. This will be found in the Sites section, and we
would appreciate corrections, additions, comments and questions as we
complete the project.
Community Historical
Claims
Melita is one of numerous Manitoba towns that
had
its
original location
abandoned
when a nearby site was chosen by a railway company. In this case the
fledgling
town of Melita, originally surveyed and promoted Manchester, had only a
short
way to travel. It is also one of dozens of towns that sprang up almost
overnight
when a railway station appeared in the middle of a well-populated
farmland.
Several “townsites” had already been chosen in the region.
Souris City (alternately,
“Souriopolis” at 26-2-27, near the crossing now known as
Sourisford, briefly
was the location of the new Land Titles Office. A Post Office
established
at Sourisford in 1882 remained operational until the railway arrived at
Coulter
in 1903. Dobbyn City, a bit east of the current town at (32-3-26) was
promoted
by owner John Dobbyn, and lots were offered to speculators. Manchester
located
at NW 36-3-27 (and SW 1-4-27) on land owned by Dr. Sinclair, was also
promoted
and quickly had a general store and post office – which had to be
re-named
because the name “Manchester” was being used elsewhere. The
new name was
“Melita”.
With very basic services in place the setters turned their attention to
the
business of establishing farms while the railway company just kept
making
promises. By the time the current town of Melita appeared in 1890, the
region
itself had a long and interesting history.
Before the first train whistle sounded Mr. G.L.Dodds had moved his
Hardware
& General Store to the site of the new town and virtually everyone
followed.
By 1892 numerous business blocks lined Main and Front Streets. An
interesting
item from a 1891 edition of the Melita Enterprise states that:
“Most of the
houses brought into Melita this year have found ready
sale.” P115 Hist.
Quite a few of those early buildings, including a few commercial
structures,
made it into the modern era, and although one might not recognize them,
both
the former Morrow Pharmacy and the McMaster Insurance (Sears) Building
date
from that time. The current Presbyterian Church also dates from 1892.
In the early years of the twentieth century Melita consolidated its
position
as the primary trading centre for the region while to the east,
Napinka,
to the west, Pierson also prospered. Nearby Elva, Coulter and Tilston
remained
smaller service centres.
As Melita looks forward to the century ahead it has taken steps to
preserved
important aspects of its past, including the preservation of the Melita
School
as of the Antler River Museum..
Analysis Criteria
Aboriginal
Peoples
The nearby Sourisford Mounds, south of Melita are a significant link to
the
earliest inhabitants of the region as is the trace of the Yellowhead
Trail,
which crossed a ravine at W 15-3-27 a few km. north of the town.
Settlers and Defining Culture
The settlement of the Melita area began in 1879 with the arrival of a
few
settlers from Ontario who traveled along the Boundary Commission Trail
from
Emerson. The confirmation of the location of the railway station in
1890
caused the first location (originally called Manchester, to be
abandoned
in favour of the new location about a mile to the east. Soon many
settlers
followed, also mainly from Ontario - with some from the British Isles
as
well.
Economic Engines
Farming formed the economic basis of virtually
all
prairie settlements
and in this regard Melita was typical.
Commercial Growth
The much-anticipated arrival of the railway in 1890 in the midst of
well-populated
and productive farmland led to an initial burst of commercial
enterprises.
The usual banks, general stores, drug and jewelry stores appeared. Some
of
these would naturally be housed in quickly erected-frame buildings,
many
of which were replaced by more substantial structures over the first
few
decades. Although few of the earliest survive, several of those built
near
the turn of the century created the downtown streetscape, the general
outline
of which does still exist today.
Social & Cultural Development
As the first settlers in the Melita area established themselves in the
years
1879-1884 three identifiable communities developed within a few miles
of
the current site of Melita. Sourisford, home to the Goulds and
Elliotts
was situated near the mouth the Antler Creek soon had a post office and
a
store. Dobbyn City, a few km. east of Melita was one of dozens of
speculative
townsites in Manitoba during the Manitoba Boom of 1881-82. It failed to
materialize
but a Post Offcie, called Menota, did offer some basic services to the
region.
It was Manchester, a rival town promoted by Dr. Sinclair, that went
beyond
the paper stage and evolved into Melita, first by undergoing a Name
change
and then by moving a short km. or two to be alongside the C.P.R when it
finally
arrived in 1891.
In most Manitoba communities, the “Establishment” era is
defined by the replacement
of “Pioneer” log, sod and rough lumber buildings by more
ambitious constructions
of milled lumber. With that definition in mind the town Melita can be
said
to have had a very short Pioneer stage, as much of the town was created
overnight
as buildings were moved from the previous location just across the
tracks
or built quickly from readily materials readily available via the new
rail
line. Many of these building were substantial but few survive today.
Within
a few years they were supplanted and replace by more ambitious
structures
reflecting the beginning of the Establishment phase. The Consolidation
period
can be said to have started in about 1905 with the erection of the the
Northern
Bank and the I.O.O.F Hall and the Crerar Law Office all of which
survive
today. It was in that period that many fine homes, of frame and brick
construction,
some near the core area but others on the perimeter. Owned by community
leaders
with names like Dobbyn, Ducan and Holden, several of these buildings
have
been well cared for and survive intact.
Community Form and Layout
The layout of the
town of Melita was a direct response
to the railway
line
to which it owes its existence. As with many such towns its Front
Street
parallels the tracks, with its Main Street running perpendicular to it.
In
Melita the main business section grew along Main Street residences
following
in a typical fashion. Many fine homes were soon erected to the west and
east
of Main Street, many of which still stand today. The memory of names
such
as Estlin, Sterling, and Dobbyn, Pope and Duncan evident in the
reminiscence
related to such dwellings.
It was predictable that Melita would grow quickly and confidently in
that
that the vital rail link placed it at the centre of an already
well-established
agricultural base. There was no speculation or uncertainty about its
importance
as a service centre.ty was almost a given, in that the vital
rail
link was in place and that it was at the centre of an already
well-established
agricultural base. There was no speculation or uncertainty about its
importance
as a service centre.
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