Supporting the Community

 
The GTP had an interest in the success of the towns they created. To that end they often contributed to meeting the needs of the town and community.

When the town needed a school the GTP provided a block of railway land at for half-price.

 

The newly-completed school.


In response to another early request, land for the cemetery was donated by the GTP. Land for a park was also allocated.

 

Rivers Cemetery – set on GTP land over a century ago.

For a time, the GTP offered free transportation to men and trees (to be gathered from Eastern Canada) to beautify the town.

The Rivers Gazette, July 10, 1919 proclaimed Bylaw 120  & 121 for the funding of an electrical distribution system off the generator at Grand Trunk Pacific. This is how Rivers received its first electricity.

The electrical plant had been established to meet the needs of the rapidly expanding railway operation and was made available to supply the town as well, an arrangement that lasted until 1943 when the Canadian National Railway power plant ceased to function and the Railway decided not to continue that service. The Manitoba Power Commission took over.

The railway’s need for a dependable water supply was also of benefit to the town. The water accessed through the dam, pumphouse and water tower was made available for town use with the town picking up the expense of installing the necessary connection.

Into the Future

Aside from the intentional benefits the railway provided to the Town Of Rivers, there are other lasting, if unintentional legacies.

The gravel pits established by the CNR on the east side of town, that once provided for decades of rail bed maintenance and upgrades are now reborn as the Rivers Millenium Park and the Wetlands Centre of Excellence.