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Old Wakopa (1877 LaRiviere) -  By James Scott , Desford
Recollections of an early settler from "Beckoning Hills: Pioneer Settlement, Turtle Mountain - Souris Basin Areas".


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In the fall of 1876 B. B. LaRiviere went on a hunting trip to the Turtle Mtns. and Whitewater Lake from his home at Nelsonville, North of the present day Morden. He was accompanied by his son- in-law, Lee Severene, and two other companions. Although it was called a "hunting trip," he was mixing business with pleasure. Being of an enterprising nature, the possibility of setting up a store near the old Turtle Hills, in advance of the settlers, was uppermost in his mind. He knew the needs of the pioneers would be many; and to be established and in position to supply their wants would net him neat dividends. Each rider of the party had his own pack horse, as they did not plan to return to Nelsonville for several weeks. They followed the Commission Trail, and on nearing the timber line of the Turtle Mtns., came to the R.N.W. Mounted Police Fort, short of where the Missouri Fur Trail branches off South to St. Louis. No one was in the building, but they could see it was being used as a stopping place. Continuing on, they came to a spot about a mile beyond the Fort, which they noted had been used by many campers. There were many rings of stones which LaRiviera knew were used by Indians to hold down their tents, in years gone by. This location was in the elbow of Long River, and he felt that this was the ideal site for his store. After two weeks of hunting bear in the mountains, and geese of Whitewater Lake, they returned home. He spent the winter of 1876-77 preparing for his venture, and early the following spring set off for the Turtle Mtns. with several wagon loads of supplies and about twenty cattle. By the late spring he had built both his house and store on either side of the Commission Trail, which, was later to become the Main. St. of La Riviere, as the village was then known. A few years later it was renamed "Wakopa" by an old Indian Chieftain, who thought a lot of the store-keeper-the translation being "White father." In the following spring of '78, Johnny, Henry and Tom Coulter, William Henderson, Finley Young, Donald and Fred, Robert Cowan and Wier settled in the district. During the winter of '79 and '80, Harrison Bros. and Williams built a grist mill and saw-mill. They were in full operation when the spring breakup came, both being powered by water wheels. The stones for the grist mill came from France in 1878. Billy Weir had the first blacksmith shop, and Bob Tyler also had one, four miles west on 2-2-19. In the summer of 1880 George Scott and Tom Sharpe obtained jobs with a coal prospecting company. A fifteen horse portable steam engine and drilling outfit were hauled to Estevan, in search of coal. It took a week to build a bridge across Wakopa Creek, to move this outfit over. On the return from the west, a shaft was sunk on 5-2-19, with a good quality coal discovered at a considerable depth. In 1883 T. A. Sharpe, who homesteaded 26-1-19, commenced operating a creamery. George Scott freighted in the necessary machinery from Brandon. This enterprise lasted only a short time, as the owner's cattle had to be destroyed, due to T.B., without compensation. The first school erected in the Turtle Mountain and Souris Basin area was built at Wakopa in 1882, named Wakopa No. 308. In the previous year, the Coulter Bros. brought in a horse-powered threshing outfit. The acreage was not large, but crops were drawn for miles to a central point, to keep the moving of the outfit to a minimum. Most of the early crops were needed locally, for gristing, feed and seed. In '80, Williams built a store, and took over the post-office duties. The company of Harrisons and Williams built a boarding house on the North side of the trail, and a large livery barn on the South side of the village. Several houses were built by '83. Thus the village had become a very busy centre. It has been said that in one day, during the latter part of May 1882, one hundred and two settlers passed through Wakopa, on every mode of travel imaginable. In 1880, Presbyterian services were held in LaRiviere's house, and later, when the school was opened, several denominations made use of this new location to hold services. The village was a very active settlement for several years. When, however, the grist and saw-mill ceased operation, like many other pioneer towns, building by building was taken down or moved away, until other than a few basements, the site once more became part of the original landscape. The waters of Long River, which were harnessed to power the rumbling grist mill and the whining blades of the saw-mill, now flow leisurely through the old dam site, and sparkle as they wend their way on down Wakopa Creek, and one to the Pembina River. Whitetail deer browse on the deep rutted, grass covered trail, which was once its main street; and occasionally the silence is broken by the whirr of what is left of the bushland and pin tail grouse. And so, after a period of busy pioneer days, the happy memories of Old Wakopa lie beneath a mantle of forest green. James Scott, Desford