Swan River is a town in

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 ...

, Canada. It is surrounded by the

Municipality of Swan Valley West 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 ...

in the

Swan River Valley The Swan River Valley (also known as Swan Valley) is a valley between the Manitoba Escarpment in the Parkland Region of Manitoba, Canada. It is located between the Porcupine Hills to the northwest and Duck Mountains to the south, as well as Thund ...

region. According to the

2021 Canadian Census 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 sl ...

, Swan River had a population of 4,049, making it Manitoba's 18th largest in population.

History

Located in a valley between the Duck Mountains and the

Porcupine Hills The Porcupine Hills refer to various groups of hills and uplands located in the prairie provinces of Canada, specifically the provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. They are part of the Manitoba Escarpment, which was the shoreline of the anci ...

, the town of Swan River is close to the

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

boundary in west-central Manitoba. The town is situated along the Swan River which flows into

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

, to the north-east. Swan Lake is believed to be named for

trumpeter swans The trumpeter swan (''Cygnus buccinator'') is a species of swan found in North America. The heaviest living bird native to North America, it is also the largest extant species of waterfowl, with a wingspan of 185 to 250 cm (6 ft 2 in to 8 ft 2 in ...

that once bred near the lake, but are now locally extirpated.

Henry Kelsey Henry Kelsey ( – 1 November 1724) was an English fur trader, explorer, and sailor who played an important role in establishing the Hudson's Bay Company in Canada. He is the first recorded European to have visited the present-day provi ...

became the first European explorer to visit the area in 1690. The name of the lake is first noted on a map created by

Peter Fidler Peter Fidler (16 August 1769 – 17 December 1822) was a British surveyor, map-maker, fur trader and explorer who had a long career in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) in what later became Canada. He was born in Bolsover, Derbyshir ...

in 1795 and again on a French map in 1802 (as ''L du Cigne''). The first permanent European settlement dates back to 1770, when

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the mos ...

rs from both the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...

and the

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

established outposts along the Swan River where they bought and sold goods to local

Cree The Cree ( cr, néhinaw, script=Latn, , etc.; french: link=no, Cri) are a Indigenous peoples of the Americas, North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of the country's largest First Nations in Canada ...

peoples by way of

birch bark Birch bark or birchbark is the bark of several Eurasian and North American birch trees of the genus ''Betula''. The strong and water-resistant cardboard-like bark can be easily cut, bent, and sewn, which has made it a valuable building, crafti ...

canoes. In 1876, the musical band of the

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian para-military police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert’s Land and North-Western Territory ...

, the forerunner of the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; french: Gendarmerie royale du Canada; french: GRC, label=none), commonly known in English as the Mounties (and colloquially in French as ) is the federal police, federal and national police service of ...

, made its debut in what was later to become Swan River. The instruments used in the band were purchased by the 20 officers in the band and shipped from Winnipeg by

dog sled A dog sled or dog sleigh is a sled pulled by one or more sled dogs used to travel over ice and through snow. Numerous types of sleds are used, depending on their function. They can be used for dog sled racing. Traditionally in Greenland and the e ...

. The first pioneers arrived in the Swan Valley through the Duck Mountains in 1897 and quickly developed the farming potential of the area. The proposed construction of a line of the

Canadian Northern Railway The Canadian Northern Railway (CNoR) was a historic Canadian transcontinental railway. At its 1923 merger into the Canadian National Railway , the CNoR owned a main line between Quebec City and Vancouver via Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Edmonton. Mani ...

was announced in 1898 and the town was founded in 1900, though it was little more than a post office at the time. Swan River was officially incorporated as a town in 1908.

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 ...

, Swan River had a population of 4,049 living in 1,825 of its 2,020 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 4,014. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Geology

The Swan River Valley is not truly a river valley, but is instead a western extension of the Manitoba lowlands into the

Manitoba Escarpment The Manitoba Escarpment, or the Western Manitoba Uplands, are a range of hills along the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border. The eastern slopes of the range are considered to be a scarp. They were created by glacial scouring and formed the western s ...

. The Valley is surrounded by escarpment features on three sides: the Duck Mountains to the south; the Porcupine Hills to the north; and Thunder Hill to the west. To the east is

Lake Winnipegosis Lake Winnipegosis is a large (5,370 km2) lake in central North America, in Manitoba, Canada, some 300 km northwest of Winnipeg. It is Canada's eleventh-largest lake. An alternate spelling, once common but now rare, is Lake Winipigoos or ...

, which is a modern remnant of glacial

Lake Agassiz Lake Agassiz was a large glacial lake in central North America. Fed by glacial meltwater at the end of the last glacial period, its area was larger than all of the modern Great Lakes combined. First postulated in 1823 by William H. Keating, it ...

, a lake that filled the valley after the last ice age (the valley was then a bay on the western shore of the lake). Valley soils are formed from a mixture of glacial

till image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...

and lacustrine clay. Sandy

beach ridge A beach ridge is a wave-swept or wave-deposited ridge running parallel to a shoreline. It is commonly composed of sand as well as sediment worked from underlying beach material. The movement of sediment by wave action is called ''littoral tra ...

s (marking the western shore of Lake Agassiz at various times) lie throughout the area: a prominent beach ridge lies under the town's golf course, just west of town. Valley soils are typically very fertile and deep, and are the area's greatest natural resource. But they also have a high calcium carbonate content and an alkaline pH, which limits their productivity in some crops (for example,

blueberries Blueberries are a widely distributed and widespread group of perennial flowering plants with blue or purple berries. They are classified in the section ''Cyanococcus'' within the genus ''Vaccinium''. ''Vaccinium'' also includes cranberries, bi ...

). The underlying bedrock is composed of

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of th ...

shale Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock formed from mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4) and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especial ...

s, and, below that,

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, which overlie deeper deposits of

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

, which in turn overlie

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the ...

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

Ecology

The Valley is near the southern limit of the

boreal forest Taiga (; rus, тайга́, p=tɐjˈɡa; relates to Mongolic and Turkic languages), generally referred to in North America as a boreal forest or snow forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces, ...

in its transition zone to

aspen parkland Aspen parkland refers to a very large area of transitional biome between prairie and boreal forest in two sections, namely the Peace River Country of northwestern Alberta crossing the border into British Columbia, and a much larger area stretchi ...

. Valley trees include

white spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to: * ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States * ''Picea engelmannii'', native to the Ro ...

black spruce ''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Labra ...

tamarack larch ''Larix laricina'', commonly known as the tamarack, hackmatack, eastern larch, black larch, red larch, or American larch, is a species of larch native to Canada, from eastern Yukon and Inuvik, Northwest Territories east to Newfoundland, and als ...

balsam fir ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...

jack pine Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and ...

quaking aspen ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...

balsam poplar ''Populus balsamifera'', commonly called balsam poplar, bam, bamtree, eastern balsam-poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca, is a tree species in the balsam poplar species group in the poplar genus, ''Populus.'' The genus name ''Populu ...

, and

paper birch ''Betula papyrifera'' (paper birch, also known as (American) white birch and canoe birch) is a short-lived species of birch native to northern North America. Paper birch is named for the tree's thin white bark, which often peels in paper like ...

. Most of the forest has been cleared from the flat valley bottom for agricultural purposes, but the surrounding hills are still heavily forested, and are designated as

forest reserves A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...

. Numerous peaty bogs and wetlands are present in the area, including hundreds of

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...

s of the meandering Swan and Woody rivers. The surrounding hills have many lakes, as does the lower lake bottom land near the eastern edge of the valley.

Climate

The climate of west-central Manitoba features extreme seasonal variation, with winter temperatures below and summer temperatures above not uncommon. The town therefore has very distinct seasons. Snow usually covers the ground from early November to early April, and only two Christmases have been recorded that have not been "

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

" (snow-covered) since such records have been kept. The transition from winter to spring to summer is rapid, with the snow of late March turning to the full green of summer by mid-May. The onset of autumn, then winter, is equally rapid, as daytime high temperatures above are common in late September, while temperatures above freezing are rare by early November, only seven weeks later. Summer, although short, is pleasant and very green, owing to the fertility of local soils and adequate rainfall. Most precipitation falls as rain in the summer - usually in brief thunderstorms - or in less violent but more protracted snow or rainshowers in spring and fall. Little precipitation falls in winter because the air is then too cold to hold significant amounts of moisture. However, because the temperature rarely goes above the melting point of water in winter, what precipitation that does fall falls as snow, and accumulates on the ground, building to a depth of about before finally starting to melt in March.

Economy

The economic base of the town lies in agriculture and forestry along with support industries for same. Almost fifty percent of the surrounding area is under cultivation, most of which is seeded to cereal grain,

oilseeds Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or fat ...

, and other speciality crops.

Wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

, rye,

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...

oat The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human con ...

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...

, and

rapeseed Rapeseed (''Brassica napus ''subsp.'' napus''), also known as rape, or oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae (mustard or cabbage family), cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains a ...

are the primary grain crops, while other commercial crops include

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Unit ...

es and

strawberries The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...

. There are also many mixed farms producing

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

pig The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

s, and farm-raised wild animals. Softwood lumber trees (primarily

) are cut from the surrounding forests, and milled at Spruce Products Ltd. Also, east of Swan River is located a mill specializing in the production of

oriented strand board Oriented strand board (OSB) is a type of engineered wood similar to particle board, formed by adding adhesives and then compressing layers of wood strands (flakes) in specific orientations. It was invented by Armin Elmendorf in California in 1963. ...

from

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the ''Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China ...

and

. It is owned by

Louisiana-Pacific Louisiana-Pacific Corporation, commonly known as "LP", is an American building materials manufacturer. It was founded in 1973 and is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee. LP pioneered the U.S. production of oriented strand board (OSB) panels. ...

. Other major industries of the town are health care, retail services, manufacturing, and tourism.

Services

The Town of Swan River acts as a hub for an area of approximately 8,000 people.

Health care

The primary healthcare centre in the Swan River Valley is the Swan Valley Health Centre, located in downtown Swan River. The 52 acute-care bed facility was opened in 2005 to replace the old Swan River Valley Hospital, which closed in 2001. Between 2001-2005, the Swan River Valley Hospital was located in a temporary structure adjacent to the old hospital. Services at the hospital include in-patient medical/surgical services, out-patient services, mental health services, and occupational therapy. The hospital is also home to the only emergency department in the Swan River Valley.

Retail

The Town of Swan River is home to a number of local, national, and international retailers and businesses. Major grocers include the Swan Valley Co-op,

Extra Foods Extra Foods (also branded as ''extrafoods'') is a supermarket chain, part of Loblaw Companies Limited. There are 10 stores in Canada, mostly in Western Canada. Most Extra Foods stores are smaller than its sister chain, Real Canadian Superstore, ...

, and Giant Tiger. The town is also home to a number of restaurants, including

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

, A&W,

KFC KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...

Tim Hortons Tim Hortons Inc., commonly nicknamed Tim's, or Timmie's is a Canadian multinational coffeehouse and restaurant chain. Based in Toronto, Tim Hortons serves coffee, doughnuts, and other fast-food items. It is Canada's largest quick-service rest ...

, Chicken Chef, Pizza Place, Subway, and

Dairy Queen Dairy Queen (DQ) is an American chain of soft serve ice cream and fast food restaurants owned by International Dairy Queen, Inc. (a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway since 1998) which also owns Orange Julius, and formerly owned Karmelkorn and G ...

. Other retailers include

Peavey Mart Peavey Mart is a Red Deer, Alberta-based chain of hardware and agricultural supply stores owned by Peavey Industries LP. The chain was originally founded by the Peavey Company in 1967 as National Farmway Stores, and was renamed Peavey Mart in 1 ...

Ace Hardware Ace Hardware Corporation is an American hardware retailers' cooperative based in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States. It is the world's largest hardware retail cooperative, and the largest non-grocery American retail cooperative. Founded in 1924 ...

, Red Apple, Warehouse One- The Jean Store,

The Brick The Brick Ltd. is a Canadian retailer of furniture, mattresses, appliances and home electronics. The company was founded as The Brick Warehouse LP by brothers, John, Fred, and Bill Comrie. The first warehouse opened on September 1, 1971 in Ed ...

, Dufresne, and

Home Hardware Home Hardware Stores Ltd. is a privately held Canadian home improvement, construction materials, and furniture retailer. Co-founded in 1964 by Walter Hachborn and headquartered in St. Jacobs, Ontario, the chain is co-operatively owned by ove ...

Entertainment

Star City Cinema, Up Your Alley Bowling Centre, Swan River Lions Skate Plaza, Swan Valley Credit Union Aquatic Centre, Richardson Rec & Wellness Centre, Centennial Arena, Swan River Curling Club, and Swan River Golf & Country Club.

Transportation

Highways

The town is served by Manitoba Provincial Highways PTH 10, PTH 10A, PTH 83, and PTH 83A. Until recently, PTH 10 and PTH 83 came directly into Swan River, with the intersection located near the town's southwest corner. The completion of a new bypass changed the highway to start on the east side of Swan River. PTH 83 continues south to the Canada–US border near

Westhope, North Dakota Westhope is a city in Bottineau County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 374 at the 2020 census. Westhope was founded in 1903 along a Great Northern Railway branch line that began in Rugby. The name was based on the slogan "Hope ...

. It then continues south as

U.S. Route 83 U.S. Route 83 (US 83) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that extends in the central United States. Only four other north–south routes are longer: US 1, US 41, US 59, and US 87, while US ...

to the

Mexican border Mexico shares international borders with three nations: *To the north the United States–Mexico border, which extends for a length of through the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. *To the southe ...

near

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

, making it the longest continuously numbered north-south highway in North America with a combined distance is .

Airport

Swan River Airport Swan River Airport is located adjacent to Swan River, Manitoba, Canada. Scheduled flights to Winnipeg were formerly provided by Keystone Air Service Keystone Air Service Ltd. was an airline that served Manitoba, Canada, with charter services ...

has no scheduled flights and is used by charter services, emergency flights and private pilots. Up until the mid 2000s, the Swan River Airport had scheduled flights to Dauphin and the

Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport (commonly known as Winnipeg International Airport or Winnipeg Airport) is a Transport Canada designated international airport located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is the seventh b ...

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 749,6 ...

Local media

*Newspaper ** Swan Valley Star and Times *Radio ** CFGW-FM-1 95.3, (rebroadcast of

CFGW-FM CFGW-FM is a Canadian radio station that broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format, at 94.1 FM in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. The station is owned by Harvard Media, and branded as ''Fox FM''. It has a sister station, CJGX. Both studios are located a ...

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 450 kilometres north-west of Winnipeg and 300 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. As of 2017 the census population of the ...

, SK) ** CJSB 104.5,

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, local news and information *Website ** ValleyBiz "The Valley Online" ** Swan Valley SpaceSwan Valley Space – Swan River Valley Business Directory
/ref>

Education

Public schools

Public schools in Swan River are governed by the Swan Valley School Division #35. There are 7 public schools in the Swan Valley, four of which are in the town of Swan River. *Benito School (Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8, ~93 Students) *Bowsman School (Junior Kindergarten to Grade 8, ~105 Students) *École Swan River South School (Kindergarten to Grade 8 French Immersion, Grade 6 to Grade 8 English ~245 Students) *Heyes School (Kindergarten to Grade 6, ~126 Students) *Minitonas School ( Kindergarten to Gr 8) ~ 130 *

Swan Valley Regional Secondary School Swan Valley Regional Secondary School (SVRSS) is a regional high school located in Swan River, Manitoba. Enrolment fluctuates around 565 students in grades 9–12. It is governed by the Swan Valley School Division and is the only high school in ...

(Grade 9 to Grade 12, ~565 Students) *Taylor School (Kindergarten to Grade 5, ~227 Students)

Private schools

*Community Bible Fellowship Christian School (Kindergarten to Grade 8)

Post secondary

Campus Manitoba Campus Manitoba (CMB) is a consortium of Manitoba's public post-secondary institutions intended to reduce barriers and enable the achievement of educational goals for Manitoba's student population. CMB serves as a conduit that provides access to o ...

Assiniboine Community College Assiniboine Community College (ACC) is a Canadian community college in the province of Manitoba. It is accredited by the Manitoba Council on Post-Secondary Education, which was created by the government of Manitoba. The Victoria Avenue East and ...

, and

University College of the North University College of the North (UCN) is a post-secondary institution located in Northern Manitoba, Canada. UCN has a student body of approximately 2,400 annually, and a staff of approximately 400. The Chancellor of UCN is Edwin Jebb. History ...

offer a variety of courses and programs in Swan River.

Notable people

* Barry Brust, NHL player * Sven Delblanc, writer * Douglas Durkin, writer *

Micheal Ferland Micheal Ferland (born April 20, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who is currently under contract for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with the Canucks, he has previously played for the Calgary Fla ...

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) player *

Barney Hartman Bernard "Barney" Conrad Hartman (2 November 1916 – 30 October 2016) was a world champion skeet shooter, National Skeet Shooting Association Hall of Fame Inductee, Canadian Sports Hall of Famer, and recipient of the Order of Canada. Hartman is th ...

, skeet shooter *

Gennady Kaskov Gennady Kaskov ( uk, Геннадій Каськов) is a former Soviet ice dancer. With former partner Ilona Melnichenko, he is the 1987 World Junior champion, 1990 Skate America bronze medallist, and 1991 Winter Universiade champion. Career ...

, ice dancer * David MacLennan, scientist * Jeff McDill, hockey player * John McDonald, NHL player *

Gertrude Richardson Gertrude Richardson (born Gertrude Matilda Twilley; 1875–1946) was an English-born pacifist, feminist and socialist who was prominent in the fight for women's rights in Manitoba, Canada before World War I (1914–18). During the war she became di ...

, feminist * Stan Struthers, politician * Gladys Taylor, publisher * James Wells Robson, politician

Sports and recreation

*Ice hockey: Swan River is home to the Swan Valley Stampeders, an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team, who play in the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirteen teams all based ...

. They play their games in the Swan River Centennial Arena. *Recreation facilities: In addition to the Centennial Arena, Swan River has a six sheet curling rink and formerly a junior Olympic-sized outdoor swimming pool, the Swan River Kinsmen Pool. Phase one of the Richardson Recreation and Wellness Centre was completed October 2013, which is the Swan Valley Credit Union Aquatics Centre. Phase Two will possibly include an indoor fieldhouse and community health services. Two parks within the town have walking paths. Additionally, the town maintains several baseball diamonds and soccer fields. Nearby is a golf course which was recently expanded from 9 to 18 holes. Stock car racing can be found at the quarter-mile clay oval Swan Valley Speedway. *

Thunderhill Ski Area Thunderhill Ski Area is a ski area located in the Swan River Valley region of Manitoba. It is approximately 25 kilometers southwest of the town of Swan River. The summit lies exactly on the Manitoba-Saskatchewan boundary. Its vertical drop is ...

, which features some of Manitoba's longest ski runs, is about a twenty-minute drive from Swan River.

Events

Swan River hosts the annual Northwest Round-up and Exhibition on the last weekend of July. The Northwest Round-up and Exhibition, which is hosted by the Agricultural Society, includes a parade, chariot and chuck wagon races, heavy and light horse shows, talent stages, concerts, dances, home living and school work exhibits, a midway, and the rodeo, which features events like the heavy horse pull, barrel racing, calf roping, and bull riding.

Centennial

Swan River began its year-long centennial celebration on January 1, 2008. The main highlight of the celebration was a

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

held on the first weekend of August 2008.

Citations

Geographical Names of Manitoba, National Library of Canada, , 2005

References

External links

Town of Swan River Homepage
{{Coord, 52, 06, 21, N, 101, 16, 00, W, region:CA_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Towns in Manitoba Hudson's Bay Company trading posts Populated places in Parkland Region, Manitoba