In mid-July, Ritchot’s council brought some clarity to the municipality’s position on bed-and-breakfasts, Airbnbs, and VRBOs. The discussion came in response to an application put forward by Joshua and Laura Boettcher of 274 Calla Bay in Grande Pointe.

Just as the Indigenous people in Treaty 1 were leaving their homes in southeastern Manitoba, many Mennonites were arriving. These new settlers had lived in peace for many years in Russia under Catherine the Great, but life had changed for them when Alexander II came to power. The new czar began to exert control over the Mennonites, curtailing their religious freedoms and interfering with their schools.

New Bothwell, like the rest of the communities served by The Citizen, lies on Treaty One land. The area was originally inhabited by the Anishinaabe, who signed that treaty in 1871. As the Anishinaabe were leaving their territory, moving onto reserves, approximately 7,000 Mennonites from southern Russia were on their way in.

The modern history of Île-des-Chênes, as with most of southeastern Manitoba’s francophone towns, goes back to the late 1800s. That’s when the government originally purchased land from the Hudson’s Bay Company and in turn sold it to newcomers.1

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.

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 corner of the province we call home.