Blumenort, Manitoba

Blumenort is an unincorporated community recognized as a local urban district in the Canadian province of Manitoba.[2] It is located in the Rural Municipality of Hanover, just north of the city of Steinbach. It was founded in 1874 by Russian Mennonite farmers. Today, its economy is based on agriculture and the service industry.

Blumenort
Local urban district
Blumenort (located in the lower portion) as seen from the air with Steinbach (upper) seen to the southern part of the picture.
Blumenort Location of Blumenort in Manitoba
Coordinates: 49°36′16″N 96°41′20″W
Country	Canada
Province	Manitoba
Region	Eastman
Rural Municipality	Hanover
Established	1876
Government
• MP (Provencher)	Ted Falk (CPC)
• MLA (Steinbach)	Kelvin Goertzen (PC)
Area
• Total	3.18 km^2 (1.23 sq mi)
Elevation	268 m (879 ft)
Population  (2016 Census[1])
• Total	1,675
• Density	526.30/km^2 (1,363.1/sq mi)
• Change 2011-16	19.3%
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)

History

Prior to about 1870, southeastern Manitoba, including the Blumenort area, were hunting, fishing, and trapping grounds used by the nomadic Ojibway people. In 1871, the government began negotiating the articles of the Ojibway land claims for this region of Manitoba. After signing Treaty 1, the First Nations people of southeastern Manitoba moved onto the Brokenhead and Rousseau River Reserves. Soon, the Canadian government surveyed the land and readied it for expansion by European settlers.

In 1873, Plautdietsch-speaking Mennonites from the Russian Empire sent a delegation to investigate land in North America. Four of the delegates decided to advise their people to settle in Manitoba and a Privilegium was signed between with the Canadian government.[3] The document guaranteed Mennonites religious freedom, private school, military exemption and land that became known as the East Reserve. The East Reserve contained dozens of villages, only a few of which still exist today. One of those villages was Blumenort. The first Mennonite settlers in Blumenort arrived in the summer of 1874. By 1875, Blumenort consisted of 24 families.

The original settlement form was the traditional linear settlement of Plautdietsch speaking "Russian" Mennonites. In 1910, Blumenort was dismantled as the farmers disbursed to move onto the land they farmed. [4] and houses were relocated and within a few years little evidence of the former community remained, its street serving as a driveway for two farming families.

In 1932, the farmers of the Blumenort area decided to build a cheese factory on a ridge, about a mile from the site of the former community. The cheese factory brought further development. By 1940, there were 16 families and six businesses located along or near the mile road now called Blumenort's Centre Avenue.

Blumenort has continued to expand, growing to 924 people in 2006.[5]

Today Blumenort continues to grow with a 36% population increase from 2006 to 2011. The community provides a local elementary school as well as an Evangelical Mennonite Conference Church and a Non-denominational Church, Hope Church Blumenort.[6]

Economy

A local dairy farm in Blumenort.

Blumenort is supported by several local businesses including magazine companies, poultry producers, transport companies, and vehicle repair companies. In addition to this, because of its proximity to Steinbach, many people from Blumenort commute to Steinbach for shopping, work and sometimes school. As a small town in southern Manitoba, much of the commercial business is related to the agricultural sector and several dairy farms are located in and near the town of Blumenort.

Transportation

Blumenort is located on Manitoba Provincial Road 311, near its intersection with Provincial Trunk Highway 12. PTH 12 once passed through Blumenort, but now bypasses around the east side of the community.

See also

• Blumenort, Saskatchewan

References

1. "Census Profile, 2016 Census: Blumenort, Local urban district [Designated place], Manitoba and Manitoba [Province]". Census Canada. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
2. "Local Urban Districts Regulation". Government of Manitoba. April 23, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
3. Francis, E.K. (1955). In Search of Utopia. D.W. Friesens and Sons.
4. Loewen, Royden (1983). Blumenort: A Mennonite Community in Transition. Blumenort Mennonite Historic Society.
5. http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/popdwell/Table.cfm?T=1302&PR=46&SR=1&S=5&O=D
6. "Hope Church Blumenort Website".

Bibliography

Loewen, Royden, Blumenort: A Mennonite Community in Transition, The Blumenort Mennonite Historical Society, 1983.

External links