Boissevain () is an unincorporated urban community 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 ...

near the

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

border that held town status prior to 2015. It is located within the Municipality of Boissevain – Morton. Boissevain is a community of just over 1,500 people and it is located between

Killarney Killarney ( ; , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Killar ...

and Deloraine on the east and west and Brandon to the north. The population of the surrounding area, within a 50 kilometre radius of the community, is about 15,000.Boissevain Population
(accessed December 7, 2007) It is notable for its proximity to the International Peace Garden, a short drive south on Highway 10. The community also displays a number of wall

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s as a tourist attraction. The community was named after Adolphe Boissevain, who helped finance the

Canadian Pacific Railway The Canadian Pacific Railway () , 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 Canadian Pacific Kansas City, Canadian Pacific Ka ...

. Boissevain, not far from Turtle Mountain and Turtle Mountain Provincial Park, also formerly hosted the "International Turtle Derby", a turtle race, each summer. "Tommy the Turtle" is a 28-foot-tall, 10,000-lb

western painted turtle The painted turtle (''Chrysemys picta'') is the most widespread native turtle of North America. It lives in relatively slow-moving fresh waters, from southern Canada to northern Mexico, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They have been shown ...

that serves as an icon for both the Turtle Derby and the community as a whole.

Etymology

The community was originally named Cherry Creek in 1881, the post office was opened in the town in 1886 and was named after Adolphe Boissevain, senior member of the firm Boissevain and Company who introduced

shares for sale in Europe. The community's school district was originally named Nimitau in 1886 when it was founded, but the name changed to Boissevain in 1894.

History

Work began along the anticipated route of the

in 1874, surveyors were impressed with the Turtle Mountain region and noted it would become a chief point of settlement in the coming years. The site of the town of Boissevain was decided by the CPR in 1885. By 1886 there was a blacksmith shop, a post office and two grain warehouses. As pioneer life transitioned to the comforts of a growing town, many new buildings, schools and churches were built. One of the prominent buildings constructed was the St. Matthew's Anglican Church, built with granite walls found in the local fields.

Sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

was also discovered nearby by the earlier surveyors. The sandstone was used to construct another place of worship and local landmark, the St. Paul's United Church which was completed in 1893. Like many towns in the west, Boissevain's prosperity came with the railway, in this case the CPR line was the first to arrive in 1885. Three other additional railways in the area, including the Great Northern Railway through the railway's subsidiary organized under the name of the ''"Brandon, Saskatchewan and Hudson Bay Railway"'', which meant that farmers could now ship their goods to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the south while also having a link with Brandon to the north. The railways began to decline during

The Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank an ...

and with it the fortunes of Boissevain. The Great Northern line ended service in 1936.

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), 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 culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Boissevain had a population of 1,577 living in 700 of its 736 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,656. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Education

Boissevain School was nominated as one of Canada's 30 best schools by '' Maclean's Magazine'' in 2005.

Media

CJRB (1220 AM) broadcasts an easy listening format from Boissevain. The station is owned by

Golden West Broadcasting Golden West Broadcasting Ltd. is a Canadian radio and digital media company based in Altona, Manitoba. It is the largest independent radio broadcaster in Canada. The company primarily operates small-market radio stations and internet portals in ...

Sports

Curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

has been a competitive sport in Boissevain since 1890. The Boissevain Border Kings compete in the South West Hockey League in Manitoba. The Border Kings did not win a championship for 35 years but then wound up winning six straight championships in 1993. In baseball, the Boissevain Bantams won the provincial championship in 1977. Currently, the Boissevain Broncos high school sports program includes several teams competing in football, baseball, and hockey.

Notable people

* John A. Campbell, politician * Bill Crump, Anglican bishop * Edward Dow, politician * Betty Fox, mother of

Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...

David R. Henderson David Richard Henderson (born November 21, 1950) is a Canadian-born American economist and author who moved to the United States in 1972 and became a U.S. citizen in 1986, serving on President Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers from 198 ...

, economist * John Hettle, politician * Zoe Hicks, softball and baseball player * James Johnson, politician * Reuben Martin, politician *

George William McDonald George William McDonald (November 20, 1875 – April 6, 1950) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1915 to 1922 as a member of the Manitoba Liberal Party, and later sat in the House of Co ...

, politician *

Norah Michener Norah Willis Michener (1971) Norah Willis Michener PhDNorah Willis Michener (1953). ''The Integral Humanism of Jacques Maritain Related to His Philosophy of the Person'' (doctoral thesis). Biographical information. (1902 – 12 January 1987) was ...

, philosopher *

Randy Neufeld Randy Neufeld (born May 26, 1962 in Boissevain, Manitoba) is a Canadian curler from La Salle, Manitoba. In 2015, Neufeld and his rink of Dean Moxham, Peter Nicholls and Dale Michie won his first provincial title of any kind, when his team ...

, curler *

Rick Neufeld Rick Neufeld is a Canadian folk singer. . Neufeld attended Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Gretna before moving to Winnipeg to attend the University of Manitoba, where he met Paul Simon. Neufeld initially played coffeehouses throughout Canada a ...

, musician *

Frederick Laurence Schaffner Frederick Laurence Schaffner (August 18, 1855 – May 22, 1935) was a Canadian physician and politician. Born in Williamstown, Nova Scotia, the son of William C. Schaffner and A. Schaffner, his father of German and his mother of English des ...

, politician *Jim and Ruth Deacove,

Family Pastimes Family Pastimes is a boardgame publisher based out of Perth, Ontario, Canada. Hailed as the original "inventor" of cooperative boardgaming, from 1973 to 1990, it was the only publisher of exclusively cooperative games. In 1973, Jim and Ruth Deacov ...

founders.

References

External links

Boissevain community website

Stats Canada - Census Profile

Map of Boissevain at Statcan
{{Authority control Former towns in Manitoba Populated places disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in Manitoba