Place names preserve rich history

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 16/06/2005 (7638 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OUR province is one of glamour, adventure and compassion, attributes to cherish as we approach its 135th birthday on July 15.

Our heritage is rich and romantic and I find this in Fannystelle, a town I pick at random from a provincial publication.

The story begins with a Manitoba woman by the name of Fanny Rivers who in 1880 devoted her life to helping the homeless and destitute in Paris. Through her work she met the philanthropist Countess Albufera. The countess persuaded her husband to finance the emigration of poor Parisians to Canada. Fanny continued her work in Canada where she died in 1883.

In 1899, to honour the memory of Fanny, the countess founded the settlement which is now Fannystelle.

T.A. Bernier, later a senator from St. Boniface, encouraged Quebecers, “to join the nobles and well-to-do gentlemen from France” who formed the nucleus of the community. However, many of them later returned to France. The colony was described as “an island of French culture in the middle of a sea of English.” Fannystelle, 60 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg has a population of about 100.

I find this story, and many like it, in Geographical Names of Manitoba, a fascinating account of 12,000 places in the province. These include stories of the dispossessed and the poor who found a new life in Manitoba, the very first settlers, crofters driven off their land in Scotland and led here by Lord Selkirk in 1812.

One of the striking stories is that of Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin of the novel The Sunless City. His nickname was Flin Flon.

In 1915 prospector Tom Creighton was hunting moose in the area when he fell through the ice. That turned out to be a happy accident. While drying his clothes by the fire he saw gold-bearing rock when the snow melted. The next day he staked claims and named them after the fictional hero. His reading of the novel in 1913 turned out to be prophetic — a submarine penetrated the centre of the earth to find a place made of gold.

Many towns have intriguing names and speak of the land. Altona, for one, is named after Altona in Germany meaning “old fertile plain.” Rosenort means “place of roses,” Rosengart is a “rose garden” and Gnadenfeld means “field of grace,” first noted on the Department of Interior map in 1881. Killarney’s name, too, originates from a natural setting. The name is Celtic – “kil” or “cil” meaning church and “larney” meaning black thorn. Killarney is the church among black thorns.

Native names, colourful and expressive, are woven throughout Manitoba history. Winnipeg and Manitoba, and of course Canada, are derived from aboriginal languages. Many native names originate from the natural environment. And they pack a lot of meaning into one word. For example, Ebb and Flow Rapids in the Nelson River comes from the Cree name Kikakwakwepanik meaning “water surging up and flowing out in all directions.”

Minnedosa comes from the Sioux for “rapid water.” The name was also associated with Joseph S. Armitage, who chose Minnedosa in 1879 because his wife’s name was Minnie. When their daughter was born there in 1880 they named her Minnedosa “as she was the first white child born on this survey.”

Grandmother Lake, northwest of Family Lake, is from the Cree Kokominan meaning grandmother.

Wavey Creek, which beach-goers see off Highways 8 and 9, is reported as a translation from the Cree Waweisipi. In 1891, “it was a great place to hunt waveys.” Wavey was the local name for snow geese and other species which congregated in Netley marshes during migration. Wavey Creek flows north into Netley Creek.

Norwegians were hired in 1814 to build a road between Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay, to carry goods by horse and sleigh in winter rather than by boat in summer. But it was found to be impractical and abandoned in 1815. That is how Norway House got its name.

Wawanesa was called Sipewiski after the native name meaning “crooked river.” It was changed because settlers thought it sounded too much like “sip of whisky.” A number of origins were given to the name, including the Sioux word wahonesi meaning “no snow.” The steep banks of the Souris River, which runs through Wawanesa, are bare all winter.

We should thank the First Nations people for their rich and colourful place names. Their culture has deep roots for they have been around these parts for about 12,000 years.

Indeed, Manitoba history has so many appealing stories.