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| RM of Rockwood |
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 Rockwood became a municipality in 1880. Native tribes made paths in the area that were used for cart and fur trading trails. The Faith Trail is a trail from Winnipeg to Stony Mountain. Ox-drawn Red River carts brought in settlers.
The municipality was known as Little Rockwood but when it got more land, the municipality became Rockwood. Unincorporated urban centres in the rural municipality are Argyle, Balmoral, Gunton, Grosse Isle, Komarno and Stony Mountain.
The towns of Stonewall and Teulon are incorporated as separate entities. Argyle Argyle was surveyed in 1872 and named Brandt by the early settlers from Ontario. The first school was built in 1880, one and a half miles east of the present village of Argyle.
In 1910, the railway came through and James D. Douglas established the first general store that housed the post office. Argyle has the Argyle General Store and Brindley’s General Store that sells groceries, gas and liquor and houses Canada Post and a coffee bar. The elementary school in Argyle was built in Balmoral. Balmoral is a small community in the rural municipality of Rockwood.
People settled in what is now called Balmoral in the early 1870’s. In 1898 the Canadian Pacific Railway came through. The Northern Elevator Company erected an elevator turning Balmoral into a thriving agricultural community.
Gunton
Gunton was established in 1904 when Donald Gunn began a limestone quarry just south of the village.
In 1906, John Gunn purchased the 80 acre village site from Samuel Herron and had the land surveyed into town lots. Twenty-two English families settled in Gunton in 1909. In 1906 and 1907, two churches were built, and the Gunton School was constructed of limestone in 1911. By 1914, around 500 people were employed at the local quarry.
The quarry was forced to close when World War 1 started. Gunton became a farming community. Gunton is home to the Gunton Bull Test Station, which is operated by the Interlake Livestock & Forage Improvement Association. They conduct livestock performance tests and demonstrate innovative ways to improve the viability and profitability of farming operations.
Komarno
The biggest attraction to Komarno (which means “mosquito infested” in Ukrainian) is the giant mosquito statue. Komarno is proud to be known as the Mosquito Capital of the World. Komarno has the Komarno Quality Store that has groceries, liquor and the post office. The Komarno Community Hall annually hosts a Fall Supper and Dance in October, Perogy Fest in November, Ukrainian New Year’s Eve Supper and Dance (“Malanka”) in January, pancake breakfasts in spring and a Mosquito Flea Market in the summer.
Grosse Isle
You can visit Grosse Isle when you take the Prairie Dog Central, the locomotive ride that starts at Inkster Junction. The train stops in Grosse Isle for 20 minutes where passengers can purchase souvenirs and snack items from the local vendors. The Hitch’n Post Ranch, located just outside of Grosse Isle, has the 2 day Hitch’n Post Annual Christmas Craft Sale on the first weekend of November, with over 60 tables of arts and crafts and other goodies. There is also the Prime Meridian Trail, which is a 116 km heritage trail on the abandoned rail line. It is a spur trail of the Trans Canada Trail starting near Grosse Isle and passing through several communities to Fisher Branch.
Stony Mountain
Stony Mountain is located approximately 19 minutes north of Winnipeg. The community has a fire department, a curling rink, a rec center, a daycare a nursery school, gas station, hairdresser, post office, grocery store, restaurants and motel accommodations.
Oak Hammock Marsh
The Oak Hammock Marsh and Interpretive Centre is located 20 minutes north of Winnipeg on Highway 67. Oak Hammock Marsh Wildlife Management Area is 36 square kilometers of tall grass prairie, meadow and marsh. In this area you can find more than 280 species of birds and hundreds of insects, amphibians, mammals and reptiles. In the Interpretive Centre there is an observation deck, guided programs, exhibits, theatre and interactive exhibits. The marsh is a popular place for school children’s field trips as well as anybody, young and old who wants to learn about conserving the wetland ecosystems.
Stonewall
Stonewall was founded in 1878 and officially incorporated in 1908. Stonewall was known for its major limestone production, and many of its buildings today have limestone, like the former Post Office/Library and Town Hall. For recreational activities, there are two hockey arenas, a 5 sheet curling rink, a soccer complex a baseball complex and laser tag. Also there is the Stonewall Quarry Park, that is an abandoned quarry now used as a place where people can go for walks on the trails, use the picnic facilities, camp on the campgrounds that have shower facilities, swim in the man made lake, or sun tan on the sand on the beach. The history of the limestone production in the quarry is documented with a museum and self guided trail. |
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community website: www.rockwood.ca |
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