Rivers is an unincorporated urban community in the Riverdale Municipality within 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 Nor ...

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 northwest of Brandon, above sea level. It is within the Westman Region (Southwestern Manitoba). Agriculture, health and related businesses provide income for the community and area. Rivers has a population of 1,257 people in the 2016 census.

History

Rivers was named in 1908 after Sir Charles Rivers Wilson, Chairman of the Board of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. During the Second World War, Rivers became one of the sites in Canada which helped to fix the positions of German

U-boat U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare ro ...

s using

high-frequency direction finding High-frequency direction finding, usually known by its abbreviation HF/DF or nickname huff-duff, is a type of radio direction finder (RDF) introduced in World War II. High frequency (HF) refers to a radio band that can effectively communicate over ...

. This site, along with

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hi ...

increased the "fix" accuracy on the U-boats. Rivers held town status prior to January 1, 2015. It was dissolved on that day as a result of its provincially mandated amalgamation with the

Rural Municipality of Daly The Rural Municipality of Daly is a former rural municipality (RM) in the Canadian province of Manitoba. It was originally incorporated as a rural municipality on December 22, 1883. It ceased on January 1, 2015 as a result of its provincially m ...

to form Riverdale Municipality.

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 ...

, Rivers had a population of 971 living in 401 of its 428 total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of 1,325. With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.

Attractions

East of Rivers is

Lake Wahtopanah Lake Wahtopanah, also known as Rivers Reservoir, is a lake on the Little Saskatchewan River near the town of Rivers, Manitoba. Its dam was built by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration in 1960 to supplement water supplies for irrigation ...

, a long lake that is part of Rivers Provincial Park.

Infrastructure

CFB Rivers CFB Rivers was a Royal Canadian Air Force base located southwest of Rivers, Manitoba ( northwest of Brandon), Canada at the junction of Manitoba Highway 25 (PTH 25) and Manitoba Provincial Road 259 (PR 259). History 1940-1945 - World War II RC ...

, a former military base, is located west of the community. It was decommissioned in 1971. Rivers is served by Provincial Trunk Highway 25 (PTH 25) and Provincial Road 250 (PR 250). PTH 25 terminates just southwest of Rivers at the unincorporated community of Wheatland, while PR 250 intersects and briefly overlaps with PTH 25.

Rivers station The Rivers railway station is on the Canadian National Railway mainline in Rivers, Manitoba, in the centre of town. The station is served by Via Rail's '' The Canadian''. The station operates as a flag stop with 48-hour advance notice. The s ...

is a station stop for

Via Rail Via Rail Canada Inc. (), operating as Via Rail or Via, is a Canadian Crown corporation that is mandated to operate intercity passenger rail service in Canada. It receives an annual subsidy from Transport Canada to offset the cost of operating ...

's '' The Canadian''.

Education

The local schools fall under the Rolling River School Division, with a nursery school, the Rivers Elementary School (kindergarten to grade 6), and Rivers Collegiate Institute (grades 7 to 12). The high school is a "Pay It Forward" school and works on programs to do just that.

In media

The Railrodder ''The Railrodder'' is a 1965 short comedy film starring Buster Keaton in one of his final film roles, directed by Gerald Potterton and produced by the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). A 25-minute comedic travelogue of Canada, ''The Railrodder ...

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

passes through Rivers. The first chapter the 2022 Keaton biography "Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life." is titled "Rivers, Manitoba".

Notable people

Earl Dawson Earl Phillip Dawson (December 17, 1925March 28, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey administrator, politician and civil servant. He rose to prominence in Canadian hockey when he served as president of the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association from 1 ...

(1925–1987), politician and president of the Manitoba and Canadian Amateur Hockey Associations

References

External links

Former Town of Rivers official websiteRivers Banner

''Manitoba community Profiles''Map of Rivers at Statcan
{{Authority control Former towns in Manitoba Populated places disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in Manitoba