Birtle, Manitoba
Encyclopedia
Birtle is a small town of 690 people (2001 Census), located on the prairies of western Manitoba
, Canada
at the junction of Highways 83
and 42
.
. It features a well-kept golf course, campground, and tennis courts, as well as healthy baseball and soccer leagues. Birtle has a park with facilities for swimming, tennis, and picnicing. Another attraction is the Birdtail Country Museum. It is housed in an historic stone building which is over 100 years old, located on Birtle's Main Street. This building was originally constructed in the early 1900's to be used as the Union Bank. Later it was purchased by the Royal Bank of Canada. The main floor was the bank premises. The second floor was the bank manager's living quarters.
In 1983, the building was purchased by the Town and Rural Municipality of Birtle. It officially opened as the Birdtail Country Museum on May 24, 1984 as a joint centennial project of the Town and R. M.of Birtle. Inside are over 4,000 artifacts related to this area. Visitors will find historical items such as the diaries of original settler
s (Alfred Morton's dating back to 1878), button hooks for ladies boots, and ice-saws and ice-tongs which were used for harvesting ice from the Birdtail River in the winter. One of the features of the Museum is the many trophies awarded to Samuel Larcombe, one of the early settler
s of Birtle. In 1917, Larcombe, the "World Wheat King", developed a variety of rust-resistant wheat. The second floor of the Museum is set up to resemble a Victorian home. People often come to the Museum to do genealogy research using the microfilm reader which holds the entire collection of the Birtle Eye Witness newspaper dating back over 100 years.
and Curling
are popular pastimes, and the town possesses both a hockey rink and a curling rink for such pursuits.
also thrives. Crops are sown in spring (May) and harvested at the end of summer (August/September).
s and French
. About 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the town is Birdtail Sioux First Nation
, home to 315 people (2001 Census). English is the primary language of the town and surrounding area, except for St. Lazare
, a vibrant French
-speaking community about 20 km (12.4 mi) to the west.
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
at the junction of Highways 83
Manitoba Highway 83
Provincial Trunk Highway 83 is a major north-south highway that runs in the far western region of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It travels from the North Dakota border south of Melita, north through Virden, Birtle, Russell, and Roblin to its northern terminus with PTH 10 just east of Swan River...
and 42
Manitoba Highway 42
Provincial Trunk Highway 42 is a short provincial highway in the southwest region of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It runs from PTH 16 in the town of Shoal Lake to PTH 41 just east of the French speaking village of St. Lazare....
.
History
Incorporated in 1884, the town is situated in the Birdtail River valley. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of BirtleBirtle, Manitoba (rural municipality)
Birtle is a rural municipality in the province of Manitoba in Western Canada. The separately administered town of Birtle lies just southwest of its centre.-External links:*...
. It features a well-kept golf course, campground, and tennis courts, as well as healthy baseball and soccer leagues. Birtle has a park with facilities for swimming, tennis, and picnicing. Another attraction is the Birdtail Country Museum. It is housed in an historic stone building which is over 100 years old, located on Birtle's Main Street. This building was originally constructed in the early 1900's to be used as the Union Bank. Later it was purchased by the Royal Bank of Canada. The main floor was the bank premises. The second floor was the bank manager's living quarters.
In 1983, the building was purchased by the Town and Rural Municipality of Birtle. It officially opened as the Birdtail Country Museum on May 24, 1984 as a joint centennial project of the Town and R. M.of Birtle. Inside are over 4,000 artifacts related to this area. Visitors will find historical items such as the diaries of original settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s (Alfred Morton's dating back to 1878), button hooks for ladies boots, and ice-saws and ice-tongs which were used for harvesting ice from the Birdtail River in the winter. One of the features of the Museum is the many trophies awarded to Samuel Larcombe, one of the early settler
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
s of Birtle. In 1917, Larcombe, the "World Wheat King", developed a variety of rust-resistant wheat. The second floor of the Museum is set up to resemble a Victorian home. People often come to the Museum to do genealogy research using the microfilm reader which holds the entire collection of the Birtle Eye Witness newspaper dating back over 100 years.
Geography
The Birdtail River is quite small and slow flowing, but is dammed just above the Birtle Park, creating a small lake suitable for canoeing, fishing, and swimming. HockeyIce hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
and Curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
are popular pastimes, and the town possesses both a hockey rink and a curling rink for such pursuits.
Climate
Summers are warm, with a mean temperature of 17.9 °C (64.2 °F) in July. Winter are long and cold, with a mean temperature of -18.3 C in January.Facilities
The Birtle General Hospital is a surprisingly full-featured hospital for a town of this size. The local high school (grades 7 to 12), Birtle Collegiate Institute, draws students from surrounding communities, swelling its enrolment to 175 students.Economy
The main industries of the area are agriculture and livestock: cattle and hogs primarily, and to a lesser extent sheep, goats, dairy cows, etc. The climate and soil are best suited for hard grains such as wheat, rye and barley, but canolaCanola
Canola refers to a cultivar of either Rapeseed or Field Mustard . Its seeds are used to produce edible oil suitable for consumption by humans and livestock. The oil is also suitable for use as biodiesel.Originally, Canola was bred naturally from rapeseed in Canada by Keith Downey and Baldur R...
also thrives. Crops are sown in spring (May) and harvested at the end of summer (August/September).
Demographics
Most residents are multi-generation Canadians, mainly descended from Europe, with pockets of Ukrainian CanadianUkrainian Canadian
A Ukrainian Canadian is a person of Ukrainian descent or origin who was born in or immigrated to Canada. In 2006, there were an estimated 1,209,085 persons residing in Canada of Ukrainian origin, making them Canada's ninth largest ethnic group; and giving Canada the world's third-largest...
s and French
Franco-Manitoban
Franco-Manitobans are a community of French Canadians and other French-speaking people living in Manitoba. Most Franco-Manitobans have roots in Quebec. However, many are of Métis and Belgian ancestry while others have ancestors that came directly from France, its former colonies and other...
. About 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the town is Birdtail Sioux First Nation
First Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
, home to 315 people (2001 Census). English is the primary language of the town and surrounding area, except for St. Lazare
St. Lazare, Manitoba
St. Lazare is a small English and French-speaking village in western Manitoba, Canada. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Ellice. The village showed a population of 265 inhabitants in both the 2006 census and the 2001 census.-Radio:...
, a vibrant French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
-speaking community about 20 km (12.4 mi) to the west.
Notable residents
- Birthplace of former NHLNational Hockey LeagueThe National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
player Bill DerlagoBill DerlagoWilliam Anthony Derlago, is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League from 1978 to 1987 with the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Winnipeg Jets and Quebec Nordiques.... - Birthplace of former NHL goaltender and coach Ron LowRon LowRonald Albert Low is a former Canadian ice hockey goaltender and coach. He grew up in Foxwarren, Manitoba.-Playing career:...