Elkhorn is an unincorporated community recognized as a
local urban district
A local urban district is a type of unincorporated community within the Canadian province of Manitoba. According to ''The Municipal Act'', a local urban district is a locality wholly within a rural municipality that "has at least 250 residents and ...
in the
Rural Municipality of Wallace – Woodworth
The Rural Municipality of Wallace – Woodworth is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba that incorporated on January 1, 2015 via the amalgamation of the RMs of Wallace and Woodworth and the Village of Elkhorn. It was f ...
within the
Canadian province of
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 ...
that held village status prior to January 1, 2015. It was originally incorporated as a village on January 2, 1906. Elkhorn is located approximately west of
Brandon
Brandon may refer to:
Names and people
*Brandon (given name), a male given name
*Brandon (surname), a surname with several different origins
Places
Australia
*Brandon, a farm and 19th century homestead in Seaham, New South Wales
*Brandon, Q ...
.
History
The community was first settled when the
Canadian Pacific Railway arrived in 1882. In the CPR survey Elkhorn is located at mile sixty-four west of Brandon, in what was known as the Broadview subdivision. The Post Office Department appointed John McLeod, one of the district's first settlers, to be the community's first post master and the post office opened December 1, 1883. A board of trade was organized in April 1899 and lobbied for further settlement in the community and surrounding municipality, better infrastructure, and improvement of commerce. It was responsible for the establishment of the first fire brigade in 1901, which became the responsibility of the Village of Elkhorn when it incorporated in 1906. In 1948 the board was reorganized and renamed the Elkhorn and District Chamber of Commerce.
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by
Statistics Canada, Elkhorn had a population of 455 living in 205 of its 229 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 479. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Education
The first settlers in the district came from well established communities in Eastern Canada or Britain and quickly recognized the necessity of public education. The community opened the first school February 5, 1885 as School District 366. The population rapidly outgrew the facility and the community sold it in 1892. The building still stands as a private residence. A larger school built of field stone was completed in 1895 and all subsequent schools have been built on the same grounds.
The growing population continued to require more space and an even larger brick school was built in 1910. Eventually even this new school had to split its auditorium into two classrooms and create a third additional room in the basement. Only elementary school was taught in the building after a collegiate was opened in 1959. Elkhorn School District 366 was absorbed into the Fort La Bosse School Division November 10, 1971. The institution again changed appearance in 1976 when the brick school was demolished and a new elementary wing and gymnasium were added to the collegiate.
Today the school is home to approximately 170 students from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
Manitoba Antique Automobile Museum
Established to keep an impressive private collection of antique cars in Manitoba, the
Manitoba Antique Automobile Museum now houses a wide variety of artifacts and documents that are integral to the history of the community, an array of early farm machinery and implements in addition to the primary collection.
The museum owes its existence to the tireless efforts of a local farmer, Isaac Clarkson. In 1946 he purchased and restored a 1909
Hupmobile
Hupmobile was an automobile built from 1909 through 1939 by the Hupp Motor Car Company of Detroit. The prototype was developed in 1908.
History
Founding
In 1909, Bobby Hupp co-founded Hupp Motor Car Company, with Charles Hastings, for ...
that he had been fascinated with in his youth. He continued to acquire and restore vehicles at his farm for the next several years. Abhorring the idea that the collection should be split up or leave the province Clarkson and other prominent members of the community successfully petitioned the Manitoba Government to establish a museum foundation. March 30, 1961 The Manitoba Antique Automobile Museum Foundation was established by an act of the provincial legislature. Mr. Clarkson donated his entire collection to the foundation, which at the time numbered some 65 vehicles, 40 of which had been completely restored. The estimated value of the collection in 1961 was $75,000 - $100,000. The community made plans to erect a museum building as a centennial project in October 1964. Contractors completed the building by August 1965 and it was opened to the public in the summer of 1966. The museum was officially opened on the national centennial, July 1, 1967.
The museum is located along the south side of the Trans-Canada Highway and serves as Elkhorn's primary tourist attraction. It is open daily from May to September.
Climate
Government
Elkhorn is a former village now administered by the Rural Municipality of Wallace – Woodworth.
Provincial representation
Elkhorn is represented in the
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba
The Legislative Assembly of Manitoba (french: Assemblée législative du Manitoba) is the deliberative assembly of the Manitoba Legislature in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Fifty-seven members are elected to this assembly at provincial gen ...
as part of the
Arthur-Virden Constituency. The constituency was represented by
Larry Maguire
Larry Maguire (born June 1, 1949) is a politician and activist farmer in Manitoba, Canada. Formerly a Progressive Conservative MLA in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a by-election on No ...
from 1999 until his resignation on October 18, 2013 to seek the
Conservative Party of Canada nomination for the federal constituency of
Brandon-Souris. Kevin Tutthill, a former councillor and deputy mayor of the former Village of Elkhorn, sought the
Progressive Conservative nomination to replace Maguire, but was defeated by insurance broker
Doyle Piwniuk of
Virden. On January 28, 2014 Piwniuk won the Arthur-Virden by-election and now serves as critic for multiculturalism and literacy.
Elkhorn formed all of Voting Area 10 in the 2014 Arthur-Virden by-election with a total of 348 registered voters.
Federal representation
Elkhorn is represented in the
Canadian Parliament
The Parliament of Canada (french: Parlement du Canada) is the federal legislature of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and is composed of three parts: the King, the Senate, and the House of Commons. By constitutional convention, the ...
as part of the
Brandon-Souris Constituency. The current
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
is
Merv Tweed
Mervin C. Tweed, MP (born August 6, 1955 in Medora, Manitoba) is a retired politician in Manitoba, Canada. He represented Brandon—Souris in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to August 31, 2013. Prior to that he was a member of the Le ...
, whom the constituents first elected in 2004. In the 2011 federal election, the community had 309 registered voters of which 184 cast ballots. At 59.55%, voter turnout was slightly higher than the constituency level of 57.54%, but lower than the national level of 61.1%.
Media
The first publication in Elkhorn was a handwritten news bulletin reproduced on
cyclostyle
A monopteros (Ancient Greek: , from the Polytonic: μόνος, 'only, single, alone', and , 'wing') is a circular colonnade supporting a roof but without any walls. Unlike a tholos (in its wider sense as a circular building), it does not have w ...
. Founded by F. Greenstreet in 1886, the ''Elkhorn Breeze'' was applauded by the
Manitoba Free Press as "a credit to that prosperous young city." In spite of such praise ''The Breeze'' had ceased publication by the end of 1887.
In 1892 the ''Elkhorn District Advocate'' began circulation as a standard print, weekly newspaper. This venture too ceased publication after only one year. A.E. Wilson, principal of the Washakada Industrial School, salvaged the paper and began printing the ''Elkhorn Advocate'' at the school only two months after the ''District Advocate'' released its final issue. Aboriginal students at the school printed the paper and learned the trade as part of the
Residential School System
In Canada, the Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by Christian churches. The school sys ...
designed to assimilate aboriginals into mainstream society. Management of the paper transferred to
W.J. Thompson shortly after it began printing.
December 3, 1908 the first issue of the ''Elkhorn Mercury'' circulated in the community. The ''Mercury'' operated in competition with the ''Advocate'' until September, 1910 when the latter permanently ceased operation. Various owners and editors of the ''Mercury'' continued to print the paper weekly in Elkhorn until 1965, when it was absorbed by the
Virden ''Empire-Advance''. This newspaper along with the
Moosomin ''
World-Spectator'' are weekly publications that now provide the majority of local media coverage for the community. Currently there are no publishing or broadcasting companies in Elkhorn.
Mayors of Elkhorn
Other Notable Persons
Mary Carter (née Munn), one of the first female judges in Saskatchewan; part of childhood spent in Elkhorn.
Travis Sanheim, Ice Hockey player for the Philadelphia Flyers.
Culture
British Columbian
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
indie
Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Gaming
*Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies
*Indie game, any game (board ...
band
Said the Whale make a reference to Elkhorn in ''Dear Elkhorn'', the opening track from their 2009 album "
Islands Disappear". The song's lyrics were inspired by an incident when the band's tour van broke down near the village.
References
External links
Official Website
{{Manitoba
1906 establishments in Manitoba
Designated places in Manitoba
Former villages in Manitoba
Local urban districts in Manitoba
Populated places disestablished in 2015
2015 disestablishments in Manitoba