Ste. Elizabeth
| After doing some business in Emerson I focused my attention to a supposed ghost town I had heard and read about that I would pass by on my way back to Winnipeg. Searching for twenty minutes for the highway turnoff leading to Ste. Elizabeth somewhat discouraged me and I contemplated whether or not I should continue to search for a ghost town that may not even exist anymore. I decided to continue on and eventually found the turnoff and eventually the town itself. Though not much is left (five abandoned buildings and an active church) it was amazing to see the town in its decayed state. The houses and businesses filled with odd items have been left to rot naturally and by the senseless vandals who roam the countryside only to destroy. As the |  |
| first ghost town Ste. Elizabeth has a special place in my heart and in my memory. Below is a map of what remains in the hamlet and the history of the settlement. | |
| Buildings
2. Spare Parts 4. Foundation |
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History
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As more and more French-Canadians arrived from the United States and from the Province of Quebec, interest in establishing a parish church in the region of the Marsh River grew. In 1898, when Father Adelard Fournier celebrated Mass in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Adolphe Lacharite, the event generally regarded as the beginnings of Ste. Elizabeth. It wasn’t until 1901, however, that Father J.M. Jolys, parish priest of St. Pierre, officially founded the parish of Ste. Elizabeth.
Father Elie Rocan was named pastor of the new parish and a rectory was built with an upstairs chapel. In the same year, according to Clair Desharnais in Reapers of the Valley 1882-1982 (published by the Montcalm History Group) plans were made for a barn like building that became the parish hall. Parishioners donated five dollars each towards its construction. When Bishop Langevin came the following year for his first pastoral visit, he bestowed the sacrament of confirmation upon 29 parishioners and also blessed the steel church bell. |
Ste. Elizabeth (time period unknown) |
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The bishop’s visits were always celebrated with special ceremony. Parishioners
went out to meet him, accompanying him on foot or by horse and wagon to the village. Meanwhile the church bell was rung
continuously until his arrival - except for the time the rope broke and the bell ringer had to clamber into the steeple to start it pealing again. The first church building was started in the summer of 1903. Measuring 60 by 40 feet, it cost more than $3,500. By 1905, the interior and steeple were not yet finished and in fact it took eight more years before work on the steeple could be considered complete. The results must have been worth the wait though, as former residents still remark on the beauty of that first church.
Parishioners drove in from farms within a radius of five to ten miles to attend Mass on Sunday mornings. Afterwards they enjoyed a visit with the neighbors in the churchyard, at village homes or even in one of the stores, where the children could look forward to a treat of ice cream.
Efforts were made to enhance the progress of the little community. Attempts were made to obtain the passing of the railway through town but to no avail. The government had dug two wells but the water proving to be of adverse quality, both had to be plugged so as not to contaminate the water of the Marsh River.1 Hockey games in winter and baseball in the summer provided further opportunity for socializing. Women and children came out to support the teams and more than one marriage in the community resulted from a chance meeting at a ball game. The Ste. Elizabeth baseball team of early days garnered fame, if not fortune, as they scooped up numerous 'firsts' in community tournaments across the border in North Dakota. Former resident, Lea (Rivard) Guenette, whose father was a member of the award winning team, recalled how dedicated he was to the game. "After spending a long day working in the fields with the draft horses he knew the animals were exhausted," she said. "So he left them at home to rest while he walked the two and a half miles into town to play baseball!" |
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Odilon Desaulniers' Home - Summer, 1932 |
Other outlets for sociability over the years were a community hall on the
second floor of a vacated store and of course, the various stores
themselves. The first general store in town, operated by Henri Fontaine
opened in 1901. Not only did it carry a variety of goods for the fledgling
community, it also housed the post office, a boarding place, and a barber
shop and pool room that became a gathering place for young and old.
Two brothers, Odlion and Josephat Desaulniers later purchased the Fontaine store. They built a new on e in 1923 and the old store eventually became a cheese factory for about six years. The Desaulniers operated the new store until 1937 when the Great Depression was taking its grim toll on both farming and business. A number of French settlers who came to the Ste. Elizabeth area about 1911bought their farmland from one of the land agencies in the area, some of which were backed by huge financial interests in the Unites States. In the 1920's, one of the companies actually flew prospective clients to view the land. The H.L. Emmert Land Agency, the American Land Company and the Rohrer and Sheppard Ranch all owned extensive tracts of land in Manitoba and at least one of them operated a hog and cattle business, employing dozens of men. Fortunately for those who followed, they had also a good beginning on road building and drainage canals. In March 1925 the first six Mennonite families arrived in the Ste. Elizabeth area from Russia, to be allowed by another seventeen families by April 1926. At first they met in one another's homes for Sunday worship services but soon acquired a small building near Ste. Elizabeth School to use as a church. Their relationship with the townsfolk was pleasant and mutually beneficial. They took their cream to Desaulniers' store for delivery to Morris and brought eggs to trade for items they needed. To facilitate such transactions with the French-Canadian |
| proprietor, the
resourceful German speaking women underlined needed items in their
German-English dictionary. He in turn encouraged them in their language
lessons.
Although Ste. Elizabeth never became very large, there were at least fifteen family homes in the village and several businesses in addition to the stores and cheese factory. Former residents mention the Bank of Hochelaga, which operated across from the church and the Credit Union, which, in 1939, opened its own premises. There was a livery stable, a restaurant and during one period, even a milliner. The Desaulniers ran a transfer business in connection with their store and, beginning in 1946, a garage catered to the owners of automobiles and other vehicles until newly accessible towns and cities drained away its clientele. |
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In 1950 the village had to deal with the devastating Red River flood which
took the life of one resident who tried to cross the Marsh River in a
canoe. The following year parishioners received another blow when fire
destroyed Ste. Elizabeth's Church and rectory. They immediately began to
build a new church out of concrete blocks. A hired contractor with
volunteer labor and financial aid from neighboring districts helped
bring about the completion of the church in 1952.
But business in Ste. Elizabeth gradually declined for reasons already familiar to similar prairie towns. Drought and depression, war and flood, improved roads and better vehicles allowing access to larger centres, consolidation of schools, larger farms and the need for the young to find jobs else all contributed to Ste. Elizabeth's demise. Stores and businesses closed. By 1970 only two families still lived in the once vibrant village. Finally, after years without a resident priest, even the church was sold. About 1979 in what seemed like a reprieve for the town, a group from Quebec founded a Christian colony at Ste. Elizabeth. Self described in a Winnipeg Sun articles as "a lot like Hutterites," the group of sixteen men, women and children wanted to live in community to support one another and strengthen their Christian faith. They acquired several homes damaged by the flood of 1979 and local farmers donated two other buildings. To help support themselves the group opened a woodworking shop, where they built and repaired furniture. But it didn't last again and once again Ste, Elizabeth stood deserted. After standing vacant for nearly a decade the Ste. Elizabeth Catholic Church was restored by the newly formed Ste. Elizabeth Historical Committee and is now used for Sunday Mass among other social events ensuring the memory of Ste. Elizabeth will not be forgotten. |
The 1950 flood in Ste. Elizabeth |
All historical text with the exceptions of the last paragraph and foot notes 1 & 2 were taken from: Mulligan Helen, Ryder Wanda, Ghost Towns of Manitoba: A record of Pioneer Life Great Plains Publications, Winnipeg, 2003, pp. 116-119
1. Claire Desharnais, "Reapers of the Valley, 1882-1982"
2. Claire Desharnais, "Reapers of the Valley, 1882-1982"
Both 1 + 2 can be found at http://groups.msn.com/SteElizabethManitoba/welcome.msnw