‘TWAS A HUNDRED
YEARS AGO IN 1907
with LES GREEN
On the map for 170
years since La Verendrye was on the scene (1738), 50 years since
Archdeacon Cochrane had brought the first settlers to this prairie
wonderland (1853), and Portage has been a town for 25 years (1881),
some of the local entrepreneurs felt it was time to think of
something bigger and of our future.
As we marched into
the new century, Portage la Prairie had many fine brick buildings –
six banks, numerous imposing churches, well-stocked department
stores, and farm implement distribution warehouses. There were
flour mills, oat mills and brick yards. The census revealed we had
exceeded 5,000 souls and were growing, so why not think BIG? A
“City” like Winnipeg or Brandon?
A fine start had
been made in putting in a water and sewer system, and the rotting
wooden sidewalks were being replaced by concrete. The Canadian
Pacific Railway, which had arrived in Portage 25 years before, had
been joined by the Manitoba and North West Railway, The Canadian
Northern and the Great Northern. The Grand Trunk was approaching
soon. All these mainlines converged at Portage. Immigrants were
flooding the prairies, and Portage was supplying them. Chicago of
the North, some said.
So a new charter
was drawn up and the Province was persuaded to approve it and give
us a “city” form of local government. Although there was some talk
of giving the new city a different shorter name, it was decided to
keep the old longer one, which tells a whole history lesson by
itself.
A hundred years
ago, then, on February 13, 1907, we became THE CITY OF PORTAGE LA
PRAIRIE.
CITY OF PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE CELEBRATES ITS 100th BIRTHDAY
By Barry Bills
The Portage
Heritage Advisory Committee would like to acknowledge the efforts of
those Portagers whose dreams and aspirations brought about the city
status in 1907. Congratulations to the city on reaching this
milestone and may the city continue to grow and prosper into the
future.
Portage’s first
step along the path to city status came with the establishment of
the Twenty Thousand Club in September 1906. This group of citizens
created a surge of civic loyalty and pride which demanded measures
to increase Portage’s population, prestige and prosperity. This
club sponsored the publication of lavishly illustrated brochures
promoting Portage as a most desirable place to settle and conduct
business. And when the Census Bureau in Ottawa released figures
from the 1906 census showing that Portage’s population had exceeded
5,000 (actually 5,106), the Twenty Thousand Club demanded that the
town become a city. These Portage boosters made it clear that only
city status could provide the powers necessary to attract business
and settlers, and bring the community’s population up to the
targeted level of 20,000 citizens over a period of years.
Portage’s town
council enthusiastically endorsed these ideas and directed the town
solicitor to formulate a resolution for a city charter. Special
meetings of the town council debated what special powers should be
placed in the charter. These would included the power to purchase
lands for industrial use, create incentives for businesses, issue
debentures to raise funds for city projects, purchase lands outside
the city boundaries, and expropriate private businesses within the
city such as Portage’s Central Electric Light Company. Council
entrusted lawyer Edward Anderson, a former Portager now a resident
of Winnipeg, with the task of drafting and guiding the proposed
charter through the Manitoba Legislature. Under his guidance a
delegation from Portage led by Mayor Edward Brown met with the Law
Amendments Committee in Winnipeg and persuaded them to endorse the
proposed charter. As a result, the Charter of the City of Portage
la Prairie received royal assent February 13, 1907, and Portage
became the third city to be created in Manitoba after Winnipeg and
Brandon.
The Daily Graphic
had already held a vote on whether the new city should be given a
new name, or retain the name Portage la Prairie. Voting was light
to say the least. Only 92 ballots were completed, although many
people expressed their views in person at the Daily Graphic office,
but failed to fill in a ballot. However, 87% voted to retain the
existing name.
Today, Portage la
Prairie has a steady population of 13,000, but has not yet reached
the goal originally set by the Twenty Thousand Club. Present day
city boosters continue their efforts to promote its growth and
prosperity which is evident in residential and industrial
development and the many public services available that contribute
to the well being of the community.
Fort la Reine became one of the chief
trading posts of the French in western Canada until the cession of
Canada to Great Britain.
In 1832 a British presence was felt in
Portage for the first time with the establishment of a post by the
Hudson's Bay Co. on the bank of the Assiniboine River.
The fort was later moved to the west
end of the present city in 1866-67, and moved again in 1870 to
Saskatchewan Avenue. It was destroyed by fire in 1913 and was not
rebuilt.
In 1851 the Reverend William Cochrane
(later Archdeacon Cochran) began a new settlement at Portage la
Prairie. Settlers, farmers, and tradesmen from Eastern Canada began to
pour into the region in the late 1800's along the old Boundary
Commission trail. With the prospect of establishing a rail link with
the east, the community saw a period of rapid growth.
In the early 1800's the community
itself was outside the District of Assiniboia so consequently the
settlers formed their own local council. Businessmen such as Thomas
Spence persuaded the local settlers to form their own republic. In
1867 the short lived "Republic of Manitobah" was
established, which was dissolved one year later.
Portage la Prairie was incorporated as
a town in 1880 with a population of 800 and in 1907 became the City of
Portage la Prairie. We are one of the oldest communities in Manitoba.
Fort
la Reine Museum