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 o ...

near the

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

border that held town status prior to 2015. It is located within the

Municipality of Boissevain – Morton The Municipality of Boissevain – Morton is a rural municipality (RM) in the Westman Region of the Canadian province of Manitoba. History The RM was incorporated on January 1, 2015 via the amalgamation of the RM of Morton and the Town of Bo ...

. Boissevain is a community of just over 1,500 people and it is located between

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

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 The International Peace Garden is a park located adjacent to the International Peace Garden Border Crossing along the Canada–United States border between the province of Manitoba and the state of North Dakota. It was established on July 14, ...

, a short drive south on Highway 10. The community also displays a number of wall

mural A mural is any piece of 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'' is a Spanis ...

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

. Boissevain, not far from Turtle Mountain and

Turtle Mountain Provincial Park Turtle Mountain Provincial Park is a provincial park located in the southwestern portion of the Canadian province of Manitoba. Within it are the Adam Lake and Max Lake campgrounds. The park is known for its bike trails, fishing, back country cabi ...

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

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. The new settlement was named in honour of a Dutch financier, Adolf Boissevain, who introduced CPR shares for sale in Europe. 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 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 silicat ...

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 (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

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 (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

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

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 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 cultu ...

, 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 one of Canada's 30 best schools by

Maclean's Magazine ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...

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 stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns slidi ...

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 (Manitoba politician), politician * Bill Crump, Anglican bishop *

Edward Dow Edward Ingo Dow (September 13, 1904 – December 23, 1992) was a politician in Manitoba, Canada. He served as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba from 1959 to 1962, from 1966 to 1968, and from 1968 to 1969. The son of Geor ...

, politician *

Betty Fox Betty Lou Fox (née Wark; November 15, 1937 – June 17, 2011) was a Canadian cancer research activist, the mother of Terry Fox and founder of the Terry Fox Foundation. She was the most prominent figure in Terry Fox's legacy. Biography Fox ...

, mother of

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

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 19 ...

, economist * John Hettle, politician * James Johnson (Manitoba politician), 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 ...

, 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 t ...

, philosopher * Randy Neufeld, curler * Rick Neufeld, musician * Frederick Laurence Schaffner, politician

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