Glenboro, Manitoba

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Glenboro (49°33′21″N, 97°17′28″W) is a village in Manitoba, Canada located about 80 km southeast of the city of Brandon, in the Rural Municipality of South Cypress. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 656. The village is the meeting place of the council for the municipality and is a service center for the surrounding farming community.

 Sara the Camel, Glenboro Manitoba
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Sara the Camel, Glenboro Manitoba

Contents

[edit] History

Glenboro was the site of a fur-trading fort[citation needed] as early as 1756. The explorer and geographer David Thompson passed through the area in 1798 and made note of the quality of soil. The first permanent European settlers of the area (Jonas Christie and James Duncan) arrived in 1879, and after the federal Homestead Act passed in 1880, many more settlers arrived in the area, including a number of Icelandic settlers between 1889 and 1894. The arrival of the CPR in 1886 prompted Christie and Duncan to offer land for a town site. The Queens Hotel was the first permanent building of the village, constructed in 1881, and survives into the 21st century.

In 1950 the community was formally incorporated as a village.

Steam riverboats were in use on the Assiniboine River between 1875 and 1885. The bow timbers of the last of this "prairie navy" are preserved in a park in Glenboro. The SS Alpha ran aground on April 27, 1885. By this time the advent of the railway had displaced riverboats for transport of passengers, HBC trade goods, agricultural supplies, and grain between Southern Manitoba communities and larger centers such as Winnipeg. A 1904 water tower installed for watering steam locomotives still stands in the town.

The village was connected to the Manitoba electrical grid in 1927, and is the northern terminus of a 260 km, 230 kV electrical transmission line to Rugby North Dakota.

[edit] Economic activities

The village provides services to the surrounding farms such as a grain elevator, farm equipment dealers, and agricultural suppliers. Tourism is a secondary source of income, due to the nearby Spruce Woods Provincial Park and the Glenboro Golf and Country Club.

[edit] The Community

  • An 11-bed hospital
  • Glenboro has had a 9 hole golf course since 1922, with all grass greens since 1970 and with a new clubhouse constructed in 1987.
  • Glenboro Airport is a nearby unpaved airfield suitable for light aircraft.
  • Glenboro School is a kindergarten to Grade 12 school, currently with around 230 pupils and 17 staff, and has offered high school courses since 1973.
  • CFB Shilo
  • Museum
  • Sara the Camel has stood at the side of Highway No. 2 since 1978, in tribute to the nearby Manitoba Desert.

[edit] Notable people of Glenboro

[edit] External links

Flag of Manitoba Manitoba
Regions Winnipeg Capital Region - Central Plains - Eastman - Interlake - Northern - Parkland - Pembina Valley - Westman
Census divisions 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23
Cities Brandon - Dauphin - Flin Flon - Portage la Prairie - Selkirk - Steinbach - Thompson - Winkler - Winnipeg
List of communities in Manitoba - List of rural municipalities in Manitoba