A Rich and Plentiful Land

April 10, 2020

This article was done in partnership with the Lac du Bonnet & District Historical Society. It appeared in the April 23, 2020 edition of the Lac du Bonnet Clipper.

Soft spring snow slid beneath sleigh runners. Bells jingled as horses brought an unnamed Manitoba Free Press correspondent to the site of early Lac du Bonnet development. For several weeks, brick-making machinery had been hauled in and temporary accommodations had been set up, the foundation of a vision for the area that started many years before this day in 1899.

D.A. Keizer, a Winnipeg civil engineer, claimed knowledge of the profitable resources of the Lac du Bonnet area from 1881, when he travelled through the region with a survey crew. Keizer lead a “voyage of discovery” along the Whitemouth and Winnipeg Rivers in 1897. The land north of Whitemouth contained miles of spruce, stands of tamarack, poplar groves, and land flat and fertile. A country suitable for farming, filled with timber for conversion into lumber and railway ties.

The Lac du Bonnet Mining, Developing and Manufacturing Company formed in February 1898, with some of the most influential men in Winnipeg as executive officers. Early company assets included forty mining claims around Lac du Bonnet and along the Bird River, two miles of clay, two townships worth of timber, and patent rights for potential water power development. By early 1899, an area was cleared at the site of the clay beds. Walter Wardrop, of Whitemouth, the newly appointed manager, began hauling freight and machinery.

A mass of rumours about operations at Lac du Bonnet prompted Wardrop’s invitation to the newspaper. The party journeyed to Shelley before turning north and travelling along the old 1870 provincial boundary, following the present day Highway 11. At the end of the day-long trip, they arrived at the site of the brick works: four acres of cleared land with machinery, timber and lumber where fifteen men worked. The manager’s house and a two-storey boarding house were under construction. A stable was already up, housing ten teams of horses. Plans were also in place for a store and brick building. Company superintendent, Mr. Hales, wanted to manufacture bricks by the beginning of May and expected an average of 65,000 quality bricks per day. Lumber, ties and cordwood began piling up, awaiting a rail line for shipment.

The Company set up a committee to petition the necessary people for a rail line. Many believed the obvious choice would be to bring a line in from Whitemouth. Ultimately, the CPR constructed a spur line from Molson, along the gravel ridges and high ground of Milner Ridge. With it, came railway contractor and lumberman, J.D. McArthur, who eventually purchased the company and its assets.

Standing on the shoreline, the newspaper correspondent watched the sun set over the lake. He could feel the solitude, predicting a future for the area not only as a business enterprise, but also as a summer retreat. 120 years later, words that remain true.

References:

“A New Manitoba Eldorado.” Manitoba Free Press (Winnipeg, MB), April 15, 1899

“Cars Fill the Highways at Lac du Bonnet.” Manitoba Free Press (Winnipeg, MB), August 17, 1929

Aileen Oder, ed., Logs and Lines from the Winnipeg River: A History of the Lac du Bonnet Area (Steinbach, MB: Derksen Printers, 1980).