Nipawin History

Nipawin: A Historical Profile

The European fur traders and explorers traveled this area of Canada, west of Hudson Bay, as early as 1670. This was the year King Charles II granted a charter that established trading posts on the shores of Hudson Bay.

Henry Kelsey was dispatched in 1691 to travel far to the west. He arrived to the Pas, Manitoba. He abandoned his canoe south of Cumberland House, and continued on foot to the prairies. On his return trip, he paddled the Saskatchewan River past Nipawin, with a large flotilla of priceless furs.

Since only physically vigorous young Indians were capable of making the voyages by canoe over the hundreds of miles of terrifying water, the women and children were left behind. There was a waiting place on a high bank overlooking a run of rapids and wide reach of the Saskatchewan River where the women would watch their husbands and sons paddle away. The men would turn to their families and say "Nipawi", which meant (you) stand and (wait). The location, located four miles south and 1.5 miles west of Nipawin became known to them as "Nipowewin" which meant "standing place" or "waiting place".

By 1748, LaVerndrye and his sons had established a line of trading posts between Montreal and the forks of the Saskatchewan River, and Chevalier de la Corne had built a trading post at a site upstream from Nipowewin. These two waiting places became differentiated as "UpperNipowewin" (Fort La Corne) and "LowerNipowewin" (Nipawin). St the latter site, two Canadians, Francois LeBlanc and James Finley, carried on a brisk trade with the Indians of the area.

Like all commercial enterprises based on fashion, the fur trade was doomed as the styles of Europe changed, and men yearned for the challenge of virgin land. In 1906, the first homestead was filed in the Lost River district, followed by settlers near the LowerNipowewin site. Lumber mills dotted the forests and great spring river runs of logs glided down the Carrot and Saskatchewan Rivers to the Pas for processing.

The site of the old Nipawin saw activity for the first time in 1912 with the establishment of a trading post. The CPR located four miles northwest of this settlement at a place called Ravine Bank. The immense advantages of a railroad link with the outside to receive and dispatch goods, grain, livestock, lumber, mail, passengers, and the potential for a thriving distribution centre in the north was immediately recognized. Through a feat of incredible resourcefulness and endurance, the men of Ravine Bank moved every building with teams of horses to the carefully laid out townsite in the jackpines, adjacent to the station which bore the name NIPAWIN.

Nipawin soon became a bustling community and grew to be one of the major trading centres in the northeast. Diversification in lumber, agriculture, trapping, business, and recreation enabled the economy to grow be leaps and bounds.

Today, Nipawin is a growing and thriving community of approximately 5000 people. Our town is small enough to allow everyone to get involved, but large enough to have all the amenities. We have many churches, outstanding educational facilities, all manner of sports and cultural facilities, and organizations. We have many doctors, dentists, optometrists, and an excellent hospital. All required services, trades, and retailers are represented in Nipawin.

A glance through this booklet will give evidence to the wisdom, planning, and dreams of those early settlers who saw that Nipawin was indeed a "great place to grow".