Stony Mountain Manitoba Town History

This cenotaph was erected in 1924 and was remodeled in or about 1947 by the people of Stony Mountain, and rebuilt in 2011 with the support of the local community and the RM of Rockwood.

In grateful tribute to the 230 men and women of Stony Mountain and district who volunteered their service and their lives in the Armed Forces of the two world wars and who returned to live in this community.

Stony Mountain, a community of 380 people at the time, had the highest per capita of volunteers in the British Commonwealth.

This plaque was placed here by the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 142 of Stony Mountain.

Some of the first stone that was mined in this area was back in 1893. Taken from the Stony Mountain Penitentiary Quarry, it was used in the construction of the prison walls.

Geology:

During the Late Ordovician Period, a shallow sea covered almost two thirds of North America. The rocks at Stony Mountain consist of limestones and dolostones and were deposited as sediment on the floor of the ancient sea. The rock belongs to a geological unit known as the Stony Mountain Formation and is about 440 million years old.

When the last ice age retreated, prairie land and escarpments, such Stony Mountain, were left behind.

Samuel Lawrence Bedson (1842-1891)

Bedson became the first warden of the new federal penetantiary in Stony Mountain on February 2, 1877.

Having had no training in penal matters, Bedson applied strict military discipline, tempered with common sense and a warm humanity towards all. He insisted that his charges have proper food, clothing, quarters, and medical care, and that they be given meaningful work to do – erecting or repairing buildings, gardening, tending livestock, or shoemaking. He also started a school for illiterate prisoners. His work and the condition of the prison and its inmates were consistently praised in the yearly reports of the federal inspector.

Bedson and his wife Jemima were renowned for the hospitality shown to all guests, from Governor General Lord Dufferand Lady Dufferin, who came to open the Stony Mountain Penitentiary in August 1877, to other official visitors, employees, and friends. At these times “Bedson was in his element for he liked people to come together for any kind of social event.” He was an avid sportsman and for his friends and visitors he set up a six-hole golf-course, a curling rink, a race-track, and a hunting club, as well as a private zoo where he kept a famous buffalo herd. In 1888, when he disposed of the herd, it numbered 110 head, including both thoroughbred and cow-buffalo breeds.

Biography of Samuel Bedson: click here

Native tribes established well-traveled paths through the area that eventually became fur trading and cart trails used by settlers. The Faith Trail led from Winnipeg to Stony Mountain, and brought settlers into the region by ox-drawn Red River carts.

Stony Mountain, known as "Snake Indian Hills", was a significant area for settlers seeking refuge from the many floods that plagued the Red River Valley in the late 1700's and early 1800's.

The first recorded homestead in the area was that of James Isbister, who located in Stony Mountain in 1870.

Building upon centuries old cart trails, the railway opened up the region to settlement by connecting Teulon, Stonewall, Stony Mountain, Gunton and Balmoral to a direct line to Winnipeg.

The original municipality was known as Little Rockwood, since it encompassed only one township. After acquiring more land, the municipality became known as Rockwood.