Elphinstone is a community in the rural municipality of Strathclair

Strathclair, Manitoba

Strathclair is a rural municipality in the province of Manitoba in Western Canada.According to the 2006 Statistics Canada Census, Strathclair Municipality has a population of 840 persons.It is located northwest of Brandon, Manitoba and is on Highway 16....

 in the Canadian province of Manitoba

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...

. It is located northwest of Brandon, Manitoba

Brandon, Manitoba

Brandon is the second largest city in Manitoba, Canada, and is located in the southwestern area of the province. Brandon is the largest city in the Westman region of Manitoba. The city is located along the Assiniboine River. Spruce Woods Provincial Park and CFB Shilo are a relatively short distance...

 and is on Highway 45

Manitoba Highway 45

Provincial Trunk Highway 45 is a provincial highway in the southwest region of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It runs from PTH 16 and PTH 83 in the town of Russell to PTH 10 five kilometers north of the village of Erickson....

.
It is on the west bank of the Little Saskatchewan River

Little Saskatchewan River

The Little Saskatchewan River is a river in western Manitoba. It originates in Riding Mountain National Park at Lake Audy and flows about south through the communities of Minnedosa and Rapid City. Its approximate length is 185 km. It joins the Assiniboine River about west of Brandon. The...

.

The primary industry of the community is agriculture.
The Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation

Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation

Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation has their main population located near Elphinstone, Manitoba on 61which is located south of Riding Mountain National Park. They are sometimes referred to as the Riding Mountain Band. They have IR 61A located within the National Park. There is also a third and...

 reserve is located just to the north, around the former Riding Mountain House

Riding Mountain House

Riding Mountain House was a Hudson Bay Company trading post set up to the south of what is now the Riding Mountain National Park, on the Little Saskatchewan River....

 trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company

Hudson's Bay Company

The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...

 (HBC).

History

Elphinstone was named after Lord Elphinstone

Lord Elphinstone

Lord Elphinstone, of Elphinstone in the County of Stirling, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1510 for Alexander Elphinstone who was killed at the Battle of Flodden three years later. He was succeeded by his son, the second Lord, killed at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547....

, who came about 1880 as a guest of Robert Campbell, chief factor of the HBC, and bought about 2000 acres (8.1 km²) of land on the Little Saskatchewan River

Little Saskatchewan River

The Little Saskatchewan River is a river in western Manitoba. It originates in Riding Mountain National Park at Lake Audy and flows about south through the communities of Minnedosa and Rapid City. Its approximate length is 185 km. It joins the Assiniboine River about west of Brandon. The...

. Elphinstone post office

Post office

A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...

was established 1 August 1887 with John A. McDonald as first postmaster.http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/post-offices/001001-119.01-e.php?&isn_id_nbr=7558&interval=24&&PHPSESSID=7ncdlvem3parjacqkd2aq6idp4