Hillside Beach, Manitoba
Encyclopedia
Hillside Beach is summer resort located on the eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg
in the Canadian
province of Manitoba
in the Rural Municipality of Alexander.
Manitoba summers are short but gorgeous. With temperatures ranging from the mid 20s to the mid 30s on the Celsius scale during July and August and the fine sand white beaches such as Hillside Beach, it can rival the Caribbean
in recreational value.
or as commercial as Grand Beach
, it is one of the nicer resorts in southern Manitoba. It is valued by cottagers as a quiet resort with a grand two kilometer sand beach and dunes in a protected bay of Lake Winnipeg, just across from Victoria Beach. The protected bay offers good conditions for sailing
, surfing
, water skiing
and fishing
.
Behind the dunes there is a large lagoon
(three kilometers across) used for fishing, canoeing
and birdwatching
. When the larger bay becomes too choppy water skiers often prefer the quieter waters of the lagoon.
Hillside Beach has few available facilities and services. They mainly consist of a general store
and gas station, an antique shop and a utility rental shop. A new addition will be a lawn care and landscaping company, like all other facilities located at the corner of Hary Craig Road and Hillside Beach Road.
and Coureur des bois
the lagoon was part of a portage for traveling between the Winnipeg River and Lake Winnipeg en route from French eastern Canada to the Red River Valley
, avoiding the long often choppy route around Elk Island.
Edith and Arthur Williams purchased a cottage lot from Colonel Chambrey in the early 1920s. At this time, Hillside Beach was made up of homesteaders and cottagers. Some of the homesteaders were the Smeltzers, Rodgers, Taylors, Bergeys, Watleys and Lesters. Some of the cottagers were the Cavanaughs, the Lyons, and the McLellans. Tony Chapple was the local entrepreneur, contractor, and employer.
At this time, the CNR train was the quickest way to get to Hillside, Albert, Victoria and Grand Beaches from Winnipeg(no good roads, yet).
In about 1938, George and Elizabeth(Bessie) Williams (George Williams is the son of Edith and Arthur Williams) bought Hillside Beach Lodge including a half-section of land with beach and lagoon frontage at Hillside Beach. The Lodge included six sleeping cabins on the beach front with hundreds of yards of sand in front of them. Meals and transportation from the train were provided. The Lodge included a store. Activities included horseback riding, volleyball and swimming in the lake. The cabins on the Beach front had to be moved to higher land two times(once in 1940 and once in the late 1940s) because of rising Lake Winnipeg levels. In 1950 the lake water reached up to the Lodge and the road to the lake was under seven feet of water during a storm!
Harry Craig is Elizabeth Williams' brother. Harry Craig became a business partner with George and Elizabeth Williams in the 1950s. When George Williams died in 1959(age of 46yrs), Harry Craig became a major business partner with Elizabeth Williams.
Elizabeth Williams and Harry Craig started the Hillside Beach Trailer court and campground in the 1950s and 1960s. The amount of surrounding cottages kept growing as they sold off property to new cottagers. Soon other land owners, such as the Trainor Family and the Bergey Brothers started developing cottage property - first along the shore and then gradually further inward.
Upon the death of Mr. Craig(age67) in the early 1970s the Williams estate sold his trailer court to a co-op
, jointly-owned by the people that used the trailer park. No new trailer sites are currently being added to the park and the waiting list to become a member of the co-op is quite long.
Lake Winnipeg
Lake Winnipeg is a large, lake in central North America, in the province of Manitoba, Canada, with its southern tip about north of the city of Winnipeg...
in the Canadian
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...
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...
in the Rural Municipality of Alexander.
Manitoba summers are short but gorgeous. With temperatures ranging from the mid 20s to the mid 30s on the Celsius scale during July and August and the fine sand white beaches such as Hillside Beach, it can rival the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
in recreational value.
Hillside Beach today
Though not as well known as Victoria BeachVictoria Beach, Manitoba
Victoria Beach is a rural municipality located on the southeastern shores of Lake Winnipeg. It is approximately north of Winnipeg, the provincial capital of Manitoba, Canada. Its land area is 20.279 km² , making it the smallest rural municipality in Manitoba. It is slightly less than half the size...
or as commercial as Grand Beach
Grand Beach, Manitoba
Grand Beach is a freshwater beach on the eastern shore of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. It is located on the northern edge of the town of Grand Marais.-History:...
, it is one of the nicer resorts in southern Manitoba. It is valued by cottagers as a quiet resort with a grand two kilometer sand beach and dunes in a protected bay of Lake Winnipeg, just across from Victoria Beach. The protected bay offers good conditions for sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
, surfing
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
, water skiing
Water skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
and fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
.
Behind the dunes there is a large lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
(three kilometers across) used for fishing, canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
and birdwatching
Birdwatching
Birdwatching or birding is the observation of birds as a recreational activity. It can be done with the naked eye, through a visual enhancement device like binoculars and telescopes, or by listening for bird sounds. Birding often involves a significant auditory component, as many bird species are...
. When the larger bay becomes too choppy water skiers often prefer the quieter waters of the lagoon.
Hillside Beach has few available facilities and services. They mainly consist of a general store
General store
A general store, general merchandise store, or village shop is a rural or small town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, sometimes in a small space, where people from the town and surrounding rural areas come to purchase all their general...
and gas station, an antique shop and a utility rental shop. A new addition will be a lawn care and landscaping company, like all other facilities located at the corner of Hary Craig Road and Hillside Beach Road.
Pre-settlement
During the fur trading expeditions of the VoyageursVoyageurs
The Voyageurs were the persons who engaged in the transportation of furs by canoe during the fur trade era. Voyageur is a French word which literally translates to "traveler"...
and Coureur des bois
Coureur des bois
A coureur des bois or coureur de bois was an independent entrepreneurial French-Canadian woodsman who traveled in New France and the interior of North America. They travelled in the woods to trade various things for fur....
the lagoon was part of a portage for traveling between the Winnipeg River and Lake Winnipeg en route from French eastern Canada to the Red River Valley
Red River Valley
The Red River Valley is a region in central North America that is drained by the Red River of the North. It is significant in the geography of North Dakota, Minnesota, and Manitoba for its relatively fertile lands and the population centers of Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks, and Winnipeg...
, avoiding the long often choppy route around Elk Island.
The Beginnings of the Resort
One of the first cottage subdividers at Hillside Beach was Colonel Chambrey. It is my understanding that Colonel Chambrey was a veteran of the Boer War(1899–1902)and he received Hillside as a land grant for his military service.Edith and Arthur Williams purchased a cottage lot from Colonel Chambrey in the early 1920s. At this time, Hillside Beach was made up of homesteaders and cottagers. Some of the homesteaders were the Smeltzers, Rodgers, Taylors, Bergeys, Watleys and Lesters. Some of the cottagers were the Cavanaughs, the Lyons, and the McLellans. Tony Chapple was the local entrepreneur, contractor, and employer.
At this time, the CNR train was the quickest way to get to Hillside, Albert, Victoria and Grand Beaches from Winnipeg(no good roads, yet).
In about 1938, George and Elizabeth(Bessie) Williams (George Williams is the son of Edith and Arthur Williams) bought Hillside Beach Lodge including a half-section of land with beach and lagoon frontage at Hillside Beach. The Lodge included six sleeping cabins on the beach front with hundreds of yards of sand in front of them. Meals and transportation from the train were provided. The Lodge included a store. Activities included horseback riding, volleyball and swimming in the lake. The cabins on the Beach front had to be moved to higher land two times(once in 1940 and once in the late 1940s) because of rising Lake Winnipeg levels. In 1950 the lake water reached up to the Lodge and the road to the lake was under seven feet of water during a storm!
Harry Craig is Elizabeth Williams' brother. Harry Craig became a business partner with George and Elizabeth Williams in the 1950s. When George Williams died in 1959(age of 46yrs), Harry Craig became a major business partner with Elizabeth Williams.
Elizabeth Williams and Harry Craig started the Hillside Beach Trailer court and campground in the 1950s and 1960s. The amount of surrounding cottages kept growing as they sold off property to new cottagers. Soon other land owners, such as the Trainor Family and the Bergey Brothers started developing cottage property - first along the shore and then gradually further inward.
Upon the death of Mr. Craig(age67) in the early 1970s the Williams estate sold his trailer court to a co-op
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
, jointly-owned by the people that used the trailer park. No new trailer sites are currently being added to the park and the waiting list to become a member of the co-op is quite long.