The Beaches

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The Beaches
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Where are the Beaches?
The Beaches are by Lake Winnipeg.
Patricia Beach
Beaconia
They are at the northern tip of the St. Clements
municipality.
Grand Marais
Grand Beach
Balsam Bay
Sunset Beach
Lakeshore Heights
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The First Settlers

• First Nations peoples were the first to live here.

Why Did They Choose To Live Here?

• There were a lot of fish in the muddy waters.
• The sandy beaches made it easy to land canoes.

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European Explorers

• La Verendrye was the first European explorer to
  come here.
• The path he made while exploring was named the La
  Verendrye Trail.
• The Beaches are along the La Verendrye Trail.

How did it get its name?
The name for the beaches came from La
Vérendrye. He called the beaches Grand Marais,
which means Big Marsh in French.
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Immigration Who Else Came to Live Here?

• Then Hudsons Bay Company men moved to the area
  with their Native wives and children and built
  homes.
• They were called the Métis people.

• The next group of people that came to the beaches
  were the Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian families.

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How Did They Make Money?

• They made money by fishing and lumbering.

First Buildings

• In 1896 St. Judes Anglican Church was built.

St. Judes Anglican Church
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Grand Beach

• Grand Beach became famous because of the Canadian
  National Railway.
• In 1916 a train track was made from Winnipeg to
  Grand Beach.
• They built a large Dance Pavilion along the
  shore.
• Dancing and partying went on every night.

Grand Beach Dance Pavilion
Grand Beach Train Station
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Grand Beach

• Many people built stores to sell hotdogs, drinks,
  and bathing suits.

Local Store In Grand Marais

• There was even an adult size carousel to ride on.

• In 1950 the Dance Pavilion burned down.

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Balsam Bay

• Balsam Bay is just south of Grand Beach.
• Balsam Bay Church was built in 1920 its name
  became St. Lukes.

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Balsam Bay

• The first schoolhouse was built in 1895.
• This schoolhouse burned down.
• The second schoolhouse burned down too.
• A third building was used from 1940 to 1960.
• After that, children were bussed to Walter Whyte
  Collegiate.

Balsam Bay School
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Patricia Beach and Beaconia

• Patricia Beach and Beaconia are south of Grand
  Beach.
• They are separated by a water channel.

How did Beaconia get its name?

• The name Beaconia came from a man named H. August
  Larson, a.k.a. The Little Dane.
• He came to Beaconia in 1910.
• He made money moving wood to Selkirk on his
  barge.
• He often came home at night and found it
  difficult to see the shore.
• He decided to build a beacon of light in the
  harbour to help him find his way home, and
  Beaconia became its name.

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Patricia Beach and Beaconia

• Stony Point School was built here but by 2002 it
  was considered a fire hazard and was burned down.

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The Beaches Today

• Many tourists come to the beaches every year.
• Because the government wanted to protect the
  beaches, they made them into a provincial park.
• Grand Beach Provincial Park is separated into the
  east and west beach.
• There is a campground near the east beach and
  play structures and stores by the west beach.
• In the winter, visitors enjoy cross-country
  skiing, curling, skating, ice fishing, and
  snowmobiling.

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The End

• This presentation brought to you by the St.
  Clements Heritage Advisory Committee!
• preserving our communitys heritage one story at
  a time -
• Presentation Created by Jared Laberge
• Information Compiled by Donna Sutherland