Pilot Mound 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 ...

that also once held town status in the

Canadian province Within the geographical areas of Canada, the ten provinces and three territories are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

. It is located within the

Municipality of Louise The Municipality of Louise is a rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. History It was created on January 1, 2015 via the amalgamation of the RM of Louise, the Town of Pilot Mound and the Village of Crystal City. It w ...

, approximately 60 km west of the City of Morden.

Geography

Climate

History

Pilot Mound takes its name from a mound of shale that rises above the landscape. The "old mound" as it's called served as a pilot for early fur traders, settlers and explorers. Originally settled in 1878, Pilot Mound moved to its present location in 1885 to get closer to the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

line that moved through the area. Notable landmarks in the Pilot Mound area include the stone bank vault, used to store land titles documents. A Manitoba Pool Elevator stood in Pilot Mound and was in operation from 1957 until 2000, when it was closed down by

Agricore Agricore United was a farmer-directed agribusiness in Canada. It supplied crop nutrition and crop protection products, and offered grain handling and marketing services. It was created on November 1, 2001 by the merger of Agricore and United Grai ...

. The building was later demolished in 2003. The Pilot Mound school district was established in 1880. A two story school known as "Big Red" was used as the main school until 1905, when a new brick school was built in the town. The brick school stood until 1959, when it was replaced with a new structure known as the Pilot Mound Consolidated School. From 1960 and on, this school served as the main school in the area, consolidating the former country schools.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

, Pilot Mound had a population of 675 living in 286 of its 342 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 627. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Sports

Pilot Mound is home to the Pilot Mound Pilots ice hockey team who play in the Tiger Hills Hockey League. The community was a finalist in

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

's ''

Kraft Hockeyville ''Kraft Hockeyville'' is an annual competition sponsored by Kraft Heinz, the National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association in which communities compete to demonstrate their commitment to the sport of ice hockey. The winning community ...

'' competition in 2008.

Notable people

Thomas Bellamy Thomas Bellamy (June 6, 1853 – October 11, 1926) was a politician in Alberta, Canada and a municipal councillor in Edmonton. Bellamy was born at Canada West, which would later be the province of Ontario. The son of an English immigrant, he ent ...

, politician *

Delaney Collins Delaney Collins (born May 2, 1977) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and coach. She announced her retirement from international play on August 23, 2011. Playing career Collins was a member of the Calgary Oval X-Treme in 2007 and 2008, as ...

, hockey player * Jim Collins (curler), Brier-winning curler * Edward Dow, politician * Paul Hiebert, writer * Black Jack Stewart, Hockey Hall of Famer *

Nolan Thiessen Nolan Thiessen (born November 6, 1980 in Pilot Mound, Manitoba) is a Canadian curler. Career Thiessen, in his debut at Canadian Juniors, lost the final of the 2001 Canadian Junior Curling Championships playing lead for Mike McEwen. Thiessen ...

Tim Hortons Brier The Tim Hortons Brier, or simply (and more commonly) the Brier (''french: Le Brier''), is the annual Canadian men's curling championship, sanctioned by Curling Canada. The current event name refers to its main sponsor, the Tim Hortons coffee and ...

champion * Riley Weselowski, professional hockey player

References

External links

Pilot Mound website
{{Authority control Designated places in Manitoba Former towns in Manitoba Local urban districts in Manitoba Pembina Valley Region Populated places disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in Manitoba