INTERIOR PLAINS PHOTOGRAPHIC REVIEW

Southern Manitoba Contact zone between the Canadian Shield and the Interior Plains southeast of Winnipeg. The Interior Plains area is dominated by Mesozoic sedimentary rock. After the last glacial period, clays, silts and sands were laid over the sedimentary bedrock. Lacustine plains (clayey lake deposits), kame deltas (sandy deposits), morainic features (coarser textured materials), meltwater channels (broad river valleys) and erratics (large boulders) are some of the features associated with wastage of the last large ice sheet that once covered this region. These glacial deposits and soils that developed over them during the last 10,000 years, provide a good base for domesticated plant production (e.g., wheat, barley, canola, etc.). The flat plains area (lacustrine plain) has been intensively developed as farmland; the transition zone between the plains and the shield area has scattered farmlands, and the shield proper is not suited to agricultural production due to poor soil and/or drainage conditions. Winters in this area tend to be cold and dry. Summers are generally mild, however, intensive convection can produce violent thunderstorms and heavy rainfall. Hot, humid air from the Gulf of Mexico can penetrate this far north during July and August. The Manitoba Plain (extending from the Shield in the east to the Manitoba Escarpment in the west) was the first to be colonized in the Interior Plains. What group first settled in this area? Photographer : J. Lewis Robinson Perspective: Date: Reference: pr-2

Winnipeg Winnipeg is sited at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. In 1733 the La Verendrye brothers, a French fur traders based out of Montreal, establish a fur-trading post at this site. The Montreal-based traders were to establish a number of posts along the North and South Saskatchewan Rivers. Trade in beaver pelts was the primary activity. The Hudson's Bay Company had been granted a charter by Charless II of England to trade among the natives living in the Hudson's Bay drainage basin. For nearly 100 years the HBC operated posts along the western edge of the Hudson's Bay; however, as the French traders moved into the Red River valley and the Saskatchewan watershed, the HBC quickly established inland posts. Intense competition for furs ensued between the HBC and the major Montreal company -- the North West Company. Intense competition for furs (mostly beaver pelts used to make felt hats) found expression across the western interior. This rivalry ended in 1821 when the North West Company was amalgamated with the Hudson's Bay Company. HBC was to build a new headquarters at Lower Fort Gary, located downstream from Winnipeg (Upper Fort Garry). For more on the early history of Winnipeg and the fur trade you may wish to consult Winnipeg -- Our Colourful Past Photographer : D. Stone Perspective: Date: Reference: pr-3

Lower Fort Garry Located near Selkirk, Lower Fort Garry was built by the HBC on a high bluff overlooking the Red River. This became the new headquarters for the HBC. Sturdy stone buildings were constructed to store furs that were gathered from the various trading posts scattered throughout the interior. From here, bundles of furs would continue their voyage via canoe brigade to Montreal. Red River carts were introduced by the Metis (mixed-blood -- usually French-Indian) who continued the native practice of hunting bison on the open prairies to the west of the Red River. Buffalo meat and furs would be returned to Upper and Lower Fort Garry for domestic use. Dried buffalo meat (pemmican) became a staple food among the early fur-traders. It was light and nutritous and could be transported easily. Photographer : D. Stone Perspective: Date: Reference: pr-7

Red River Valley Early French influence in the Red River valley remains in the landscape. Long lots extend outward from the Red River both north and south of Winnipeg. In 1812, Scottish crofters arrived at Fort Garry (later Upper Fort Garry) to settle. Although tolerated by the HBC, the settlers were never welcomed by the fur-traders nor the resident Metis who supplied the wilderness posts with pemmican. Poor crops brought on by inadequate moisture and insect infestation were exacerbated by a rather hostile resident population (fur-traders and Metis hunters). The Selkirk settlement failed; some hung around Fort Garry, some moved south to the U.S. and others ended up in the Maritimes. Photographer : J. Lewis Robinson Perspective: Date: Reference: pr-9

Red River Valley The long lots of the Red River valley resemble those found in the St. Lawrence River valley. However, the similarity ends here. No seigneural system was introduced to the Red River area because the French empire in North America had ended by 1763. Nonetheless, the rural settlement pattern is distinctly Quebecois. How would you described the rural settlement pattern in the photo? Photographer: D. Stone Perspective: Date: Reference: pr-10

Southern Manitoba Until 1931, the Government of Canada, under the Department of the Interior, was responsible for settling the interior plains. Once British Columbia joined Confederation in 1871 on the promise of a trans-continental railway, this opened the way for the lands lying north of the 49th parallel to be surveyed and ready for settlement. Firstly, the government needed to "make treaties" with the aboriginal peoples of the plains in order to ensure that this vast tract of territory would be available for settlement. Secondly, the government had to survey the lands quickly to ensure that they would be settled by peoples loyal to Canada. The American-styled township, section and range system was chosen as the most expedient way of surveying this enormous, largely unoccupied, territory. Using a base line on the eastern edge of the plains, a grid survey system comprising townships, sections, ranges, and quarter-sections was imposed across the plains landscape. A township was the larger unit -- comprising 36 sections or 36 square miles. Each section (640 acres) was 1 square mile in size and was further surveyed into quarter-sections (160 acres). The quarter-section, 1/4 square mile or 160 acres, became the basic areal unit for homesteading, leasing or land purchase. Under the Homestead Act, the federal government was responsible for disposing of Crown (public) lands throughout the interior plains. As part of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company's compensation from government for constructing a trans-continental railway from Montreal to the west coast was the delivery to the railway company of large tracts of quarter-sections; likewise, once the HBC relinquished its monopolistic control of commerce in the western territory, it too received land grants from the federal government. Two sections in each township was reserved as School Lands -- a measure to support the early public education system in the Canadian west. Photographer: D. Stone Perspective: Date: Reference: pr-11

Rhineland The first large-scale immigration of agricultural settlers into the plains region were the Mennonites from central Europe. The Government of Canada allowed the Mennonites to retain their traditional lifestyle. Evidence of this remains in the rural landscape of southern Manitoba (e.g., the Altona area). Nucleated rural villages, such as Rhineland, were allowed to develop. Farmers from the village would cultivate individually-owned 1/4 sections beyond the village. Later settlers to the prairies and parkland regions were required to settle on individual 1/4 sections. Once specified homestead duties ("x" number of acres placed under cultivation, "x" number of livestock, built a habitable home, etc.) had been fulfilled, the homesteader received patent (ownership) from the Crown (government) to the land. What would these rural villagers grow on their individual plots of land behind their farm buildings? Photographer: J. Lewis Robinson Perspective: Date: Reference: pr-12