In this summer series, The Citizen is taking a look at the unique history of each town in our corner of southeastern Manitoba. Let’s take some time to learn more about this beautiful part of the province we call home.
The first recorded name for the area now known as Ste-Agathe is Petite Pointe à Saline (Little Salt Point), so named because of a salt-making business located there.
It is unknown precisely when this name changed, but some time before 1872 the area became more generally known as Pointe-à-Grouette. An 1870 census lists 157 residents of Pointe-à-Grouette, all of whom were Métis except for two.1
The new name came from settlers from Quebec, and specifically a local homesteader whose name was Grouette. Unfortunately, his first name and other identifying details seem to have been lost to time.2
Grouette built his home on the west bank of the Red River and began to farm the rich soil there. In 1871, a dock was built to allow Grouette and other new settlers to cross to the east side of the Red via ferry.
Throughout the years. seven different ferries provided transportation across the river at this spot.
A bridge eventually began construction over the Red in 1959, and it officially opened on November 7, 1960. On October 13, 1988, the bridge was christened Pont Louis Riel Bridge.2 3
As the Roman Catholic Church organized the colonies along the Red River between St. Norbert and the American border, they decided to lump them all into the new Parish of Ste. Agathe. The parish grew rapidly and was soon split into numerous smaller parishes.
In 1873, the parish containing Pointe-à-Grouette was renamed the Parish of Ste. Agathe. Eventually the town adopted the name and the modern Ste. Agathe was born.3
A chapel was built here in 1872 by Father J.B. Proulx, and two years later he added a residence. He called the residence La Maison Jaune (The Yellow House).
In 1900, a convent was built nearby.1 3
The Grouette residence came to be used as a schoolhouse from 1872 to 1897. At that time, the Ste. Agathe School District included Saint-Pierre Jolys, Aubigny, St. Adolphe, and the local schools of St. Antoine, St. Nicholas, Union Point, and Ste. Agathe.3
In 1908, telephone service arrived in Ste. Agathe. The phone offices were first based out of the Felix Lemoine General Store, then in a private residence, and later in the Donat Joyal Store.3
1908 also saw the construction of the community’s first hotel. It was replaced by a more modern structure in 1920 and renovated after the massive flood of 1950. The hotel was closed in 1971 and finally demolished in 1990.4
Around 1918, banking services came to town when the Banque d’Hochelada (Hochelada Bank) opened a branch inside a local store. Twenty-five years later, Ste. Agathe got its own local branch of the Caisse Populaire.3
In 1948, four classrooms were added to the previously built convent. Twelve nuns from the convent formed the teaching staff for students from Grades One through Twelve.
On September 29, 1962 the Manitoba Pool elevator and Canadian National Railway station both burned to the ground. Because the need for a grain elevator was great, a new one was quickly built.3
In around 1962, La Maison Jaune was demolished. The next year, a new rectory was built which still stands today next to the church. The convent and its land were sold to the provincial government in 1974. The convent was subsequently torn down and the Chalet Ste. Agathe, a home for senior citizens, erected on the spot.
The original school district was dissolved in 1960 and its catchment area became part of the Ste. Agathe Consolidated School District. In 1961, the Institut Collégial de Ste. Agathe was built. At first the school offered instruction to those from Grades Nine through Twelve. Currently, students from Kindergarten to Grade Eight may attend. It is now part of the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine.
On the site of the former hotel sits an old steamship boiler. The Cheyenne operated on the Red River throughout the 1870s and 1880s until a catastrophe on June 2, 1885. As the ship began to sink, a heavy boiler was thrown overboard. Nearly 100 years later, that boiler was found stuck deep in the mud during construction of a dike around the town. The boiler was restored and now sits on the banks of the river as a reminder of the town’s past and the power of the Red.6
In 1989, a group of Ste. Agathe residents decided to hold a local festival. They named the event the Cheyenne Festival after the old steamboat. The Cheyenne Summer Fest still takes place every July and remains an annual highlight for residents here.6
Another historic monument stands on the grounds of the church. The monument was built of field stones and created by Auguste Brémault to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Ste. Agathe as a parish. Richard Nolette donated a Red River cart to stand on the monument.3
Ste. Agathe’s history, like many towns along the Red River, is marked by a series of disastrous floods. The worst in recent memory was the so-called “flood of the century” in 1997. The ring dike meant to protect the town was breached that year, giving way to floodwaters in late April. More than two metres of water flooded the town.
However, Ste. Agathe recovered in the years ahead. A new dike has been erected to protect the town from future floods. The Red River Valley Interpretive Centre, which includes information about the town’s flood history, is located on the west end of the town.2
As of the 2021 census, the town of Ste. Agathe had 643 residents, an increase of just six people since the previous census in 2016.7
