Four Houses on right built by Thos. Gwilt. L to R - J.G. Kippan, W. Setter, M. Crear, J.L. McCauley. Russell, Manitoba - 1911 Mountain Avenue
By Mrs. J. G. Kippan
In 1878 and 1879 the Federal Government sent surveyors across western Canada, one outfit to survey the land into townships, etc., and another outfit to survey a Trans-Canada railway line to cross to the Pacific Ocean apparently via the Peace River Pass. In the townships surveyed all the even-numbered sections except 8 and 26, which were reserved for the Hudson's Bay Co., were thrown open for home-steading.
Settlers immediately began coming, taking up land as near to the proposed line of railway as suited them. These Settlers were mostly from Ontario with a sprinkling from further east in Canada and the British Isles. Some of our first Russell district settlers came into Manitaba over the old Dawson Route, then larger parties came by rail through the States to St. Boniface and ferried over the Red River to Winnipeg. From there some came by rail to ten miles west of Portage la Prairie, the end of the rail in 1880. Here it might be noted that the late Jas. Rea had earlier worked for the Hon. Jas. McKay who had the contract for freighting railway supplies from Winnipeg to Portage la Prairie. The hardships these pioneer freighters encountered were even more rigorous than those of the incoming settlers. The work was done mostly with mules and each freighter was given his ration of salt pork, flour, soda, salt and tea. At night they made camp, tethered their mules to wagon or sleigh, and in winter dug a hole in the snow for their tent, made a fire and melted snow to cook their pork, bannocks and tea.
Many settlers began their western trek from Winnipeg by wagon or ox-cart. Others came up the Assiniboine by boat as far as Fort Ellice, a quite important Hudson's Bay trading post at that time. Their settlers' effects were very limited because of transportation difficulties; and of these what were not brought from Ontario were bought in Winnipeg and Portage la Prairie. In the main these were: wagon or Red-River-cart (oxdrawn and with a removable cover), cow, pig, plow, harrows, hoe, stove, pail, iron pot, frying-pan, tea-pot, bread pan basin, a few strong plates cups, spoons, knives and forks, bed ticks to be later filled with straw or hay, a box or trunk of blankets and clothing, and a box of food called "the grub box". Though everyone brought a coal-oil lamp the difficulty of getting coal-oil was such that as soon as the house-keeper could collect some grease it was the home-made tallow candle which was used for several years.
From the end of the railway the early settlers followed the Fort Pelly trails. The country was wide open prairie with houses often twenty miles apart. Occasionally small bands of Indians would ride up on their shagginappies, accompany the party a short distance and disappear again, but they never molested anyone. By day, the travellers walked or rode --- the women usually in the carts because these made for easier riding. At night they made camp by good water; tethered their animals to feed in the abundant and very nutritious prairie grass, made a fire to cook what they needed for supper and to smudge off the mosquitoes, and then slept in the covered wagons or near the campfire. They didn't like to stay at the few stopping places along the trail, though a very plain meal could be had for fifty cents and a shake-down bed on the floor for fifty cents, because they might also get a free supply of bed bugs and lice.
So far as we can ascertain, the first settlers to take up land came here were Jas, A. ( "Big Jim" ) Kippan and Donald Stewart, who homesteaded and built houses along Silver Creek, northeast of the present village of Silverton in 1879. An account of the Silver Creek settlement will be found in the section under that name.
On March 21, 1880 a party left Winnipeg with three loaded sleighs expecting to make their westward journey on the winter trails. In the party were Major C. A. Boulton, M. Gardner, F. D. Gilly, Wm. B. Lennard and Walter F. Stewart. Because of hardships encountered on the early part of their trip Mr. Pillar died at Portage la Prairie. Difficulties ensued: bad weather, snow blindness, poor food, vermin, up-set loads and standing out in blizzards between the oxen to keep from freezing to death. At Big Bend on the Little Saskatchewan (now Minnedosa) River the party was joined by Ted Brown and they reached Dow's Crossing on the Bird Tail River early in April. Here the winter road ended and the party was delayed ten days while they assembled their wagons and reloaded, crossing the river on ice, April 13th. Two days later they left Silver Creek for the Shell River country and they had the pick of the land as far as they could see in every direction. They homesteaded approximately from eight to eighteen miles north of Russell in the Thunder Creek to Boulton districts and an account of these pioneers will be found in the section on Asessippi.
In the immediate vicinity of what is now the town of Russell the first settlers were Wm. Whitford, Wm. Field, H. R. Dupre, John Lawther, D. Kinnaird Sr., John Brown and Wm. Denmark. Calcott was 4 miles north. Lawther from Ireland, Kinnaird and Brown from Scotland, crossed the ocean on the same ship in 1880 and landed in St. Boniface April 7th. They had their first sleigh ride crossing the ice to Winnipeg. In Winnipeg Wm. Denmark from Ontario joined their party and they journeyed together to Russell, John Lawther settling on section 15 which he bought at one dollar an acre, Brown and Kinnaird homesteading on section 16 and Denmark homesteading on section 22 immediately north of Lawther. Here Denmark started a store and post office, the latter named "Shell River", the name it retained until the advent of the Manitoba and North-Western railway in 1886.
This site made possible by the Town of Russell
Family History Main Page | Town of Russell | Town History Pages
NEW - History being collected. If you live or have ever lived in the Russell area please click here.
The site created and maintained by The Grain Web.