Charleswood is a semi-rural

residential community A residential community is a community, usually a small town or city, that is composed mostly of residents, as opposed to commercial businesses and/or industrial facilities, all three of which are considered to be the three main types of oc ...

and neighbourhood in the southwest corner of

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, Canada. Since at least the 1930s, Charleswood has been known as "The Suburb Beautiful." It composes part of the city ward of Charleswood - Tuxedo - Westwood; and is part of the

provincial electoral district An electoral district in Canada is a geographical constituency upon which Canada's representative democracy is based. It is officially known in Canadian French as a ''circonscription'' but frequently called a ''comté'' (county). In English it is ...

of Roblin (replacing the former electoral district of Charleswood). It is also served by the Pembina Trails School Division. It is located in the southwestern part of the city, and is bordered by the

Assiniboine River The Assiniboine River (''; french: Rivière Assiniboine'') is a river that runs through the prairies of Western Canada in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It is a tributary of the Red River. The Assiniboine is a typical meandering river with a sing ...

to the north, Wilkes Avenue to the south, the

Rural Municipality of Headingley Headingley (sometimes spelled Headingly) is a rural municipality in Manitoba, Canada. It is located directly west of Winnipeg and had a population of 3,579 people as of the 2016 census. The Trans-Canada Highway and the Assiniboine River run thro ...

on the west, and the Assiniboine Park and Forest to the east. Until it joined with the City of Winnipeg in 1972, it was a separate municipality known as the Rural Municipality of Charleswood. Its population as of the 2011 Census was 25,679.

History

Before European settlement, the region was home to an ancient

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

across the

. Patrick H. Kelly (1847–1940) is widely regarded as the founder of what is now Charleswood. He was a farmer and municipal official who moved from

Perth County, Ontario Perth County is a county in the Canadian province of Ontario in Southwestern Ontario, west of Toronto. Its population centres are Listowel, Mitchell and Milverton. The City of Stratford and the Town of St. Marys are within the Perth census di ...

, in 1906 and settled in the then- Rural Municipality of Assiniboia, taking over of land. He built a general store in 1907; was key in establishing the community's first post office; and was instrumental in developing the community's school. He also convinced the Winnipeg Electric Railway Company to extend the street railway so that the community had a connection with the city. Kelly eventually came to persuade residents of the community to apply for the creation of Charleswood as a separate

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

. The origin of the name "Charleswood" is unclear, as it has at least two possibilities: it may have been named for Charles Kelly, who served on the first municipal council; or it is a combination of the

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

name "St. Charles" and the dense

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

that encompassed the area. Kelly was successful and the Rural Municipality of Charleswood was incorporated on 15 February 1913. The municipality was formed from parts of the RM of Assiniboia and Parishes of

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

and St. Charles, while excluding territories held by the Town of Tuxedo and the City of Winnipeg. The first four meetings of the new municipal council were held in a room in his store. During the 1910s, the area was marketed as "Rydal," a prospective residential locale by the developers of Tuxedo. There was little housing in Charleswood before 1920 and only limited growth between 1920 and 1946. The local economy at the time was chiefly agricultural with dairy and poultry farms,

market gardens A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to som ...

, and mink ranchers. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, it became popular with immigrants from Europe who wanted to avoid living too close to the centre of Winnipeg. Development of the area increased, and new houses were constructed in the Roblin Park, Marlton, and Varsity View neighbourhoods. A ferry service was in operation in the region as late as 1958, and a trail leading to the ford was visible until fairly recently. The area experienced particularly strong growth in the 1970s, with at least 7,500 homes built during that decade. In 1972, the Rural Municipality of Charleswood was among several municipalities that amalgamated into the City of Winnipeg. With

seceding in 1992, the former municipalities on the north and south sides of the Assiniboine River—Charleswood and St. James-Assiniboia, respectively—were reunited as the Assiniboia Community. In 1995, the Charleswood Bridge opened over the Assiniboine River, physically connecting the two communities.

Sports

Charleswood is home to the

Charleswood Hawks The Charleswood Hawks are a Canadian junior ice hockey team currently based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Established in 1970, the Hawks a charter member of the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League (MMJHL) ...

hockey team playing out of the MMJHL. It is also home to the

Charleswood Curling Club Charleswood Curling Club is located in the southwestern area of Winnipeg, in the community of Charleswood. The club was founded in 1946 as a three sheet rink, although expansion to five sheets was completed in 1956. It was the home club of the Jeff ...

, home club of 6 time provincial, 2 times national, and 1996 world curling champion

Jeff Stoughton Jeffrey R. "Jeff" Stoughton (born July 26, 1963) is a Canadian retired curler. He is a three-time Brier champion and two-time World champion as skip. Stoughton retired from competitive curling in 2015. He is one of the most successful Manitoba ...

Crime

Charleswood has very low crime rates. The table below shows the crime rates of various crimes in each of the Charleswood neighborhoods. The crime data spans 5 years from the year 2017 to the year 2021. The rates are ''crimes per 100,000 residents per year.''

References

{{WinnipegNeighbourhoods Former municipalities now in Winnipeg Populated places disestablished in 1972 Neighbourhoods in Winnipeg Charleswood

History

Sports

Crime

See also

References