1

St. Francois settlement and parish at J. Landels farm site, Mile 16.
1915
Carrot Valley, Manitoba


Credits:
D.F. de Tremaudan
PP86.12.1

2

The first crop was seeded in the Carrot Valley in the spring of 1754 by Captain Louis De La Corne St. Luc - almost 60 years before the founding of the Red River Settlement near present day Winnipeg in 1812. It was not until the twentieth century, however, that agriculture would become truly feasible in the Carrot River Valley west of The Pas.

In 1915 a group of French Canadian settlers moved to the Carrot Valley to establish a farming community. The venture was short lived when a flood in 1916 forced them to evacuate their farms. In response to the disastrous flooding, the federal government restricted settlement to the lots on the south bank of the Carrot River.

3

Steamboat alongside a scow that is loaded with supplies and cattle for the Carrot River Valley.
1 July 1915
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
PP2000.6.36

4

The problem flooding of the Carrot Valley was always known, but the agricultural possibilities of the region lured the interest of settlers and government agricultural consultants alike. The first enthusiastic advocate for reclaiming the Pasquia region was William Ogilvie. He reported in 1911 that "the soil along the Carrot above the low lands is of finest quality."

Investigations into reclamation of the Pasquia region continued off and on through out the next several decades, but although there was interest, the 1924 report summed up the reluctance to sink funds into an extensive project: "The area...has great potential agricultural possibilities but the advisability of its construction is largely dependent in the needs for more farmland in the West, for which, at the present time, there is little demand."

5

Four boys by a haystack.
1928
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
PP2001.4.7

6

Olga, Marie, and Emilia Baran by their family vegetable garden on Crossley Avenue.
c. 1925
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
PP2001.4.1

7

Three-horse team pulling a seed-drill
c. 1920
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Foster, S.
PP2000.5.28

8

Jesse Vennase hauling supplies in a horse-drawn cart
c. 1920
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Foster, S.
PP2000.5.95

9

A view of Robert Seidel's farm.
1951
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
PP93.18.305

10

A farm on the Saskeram with an unidentified child.
1950
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
PP93.18.306a

11

St. Godard's farm on the Saskeram.
20th Century
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
PP93.18.308a

12

The Pas Dairy Sleigh and an unidentified man.
20th Century
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Henry Buchberger
PP93.18.312a

13

The drought conditions of the 1930s worked favourably for agriculture in the Carrot Valley. Land that was normally swampy or flood-prone became dry enough to successfully grow hay and crops. Hay flowed south to Depression hit areas and agricultural settlers moved north. Although the government's ban on settlement south of the Carrot River remained in effect, unauthorized farms cropped up. The government was not apt to force people off the land with the advent of World War II, which brought a need for more agricultural production. Returning veterans looking for land also settled in the Pasquia region.

14

Haying with an overhead stacker
c. 1920



Credits:
Foster, S.
PP2000.5.70

15

An overhead stacker being used to stack loose hay
c. 1920



Credits:
Foster, S.
PP2000.5.85

16

Team of horses working in a hay field.
c. 1920



Credits:
S. Foster
PP2000.5.71

17

Bucking hay on Bigelow farm, Carrot Valley.
20th Century
Carrot Valley, Manitoba


Credits:
PP93.18.309

18

Early tractor, Hart-Parr 1920 model.
20th Century
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
PP93.18.318

19

The reclamation of the Pasquia region all came to a head in 1948. A flood covered most of the agricultural area, which by this point had become well established. A break in the levee at mile 18 ½ flooded the valley overnight. As Jack Fulmore recalled, "They were going around with a barge picking up cattle and getting them to high ground. It was quite a disaster and nobody got any crop in that year." Settlers and stock had to be evacuated. The 1948 flood brought home the urgency of a reclamation project to prevent future flooding. Later that same year, the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) was contacted to undertake the project. Work began to construct a system of dams, dykes and drainage canals in order to protect the area bordered by the Saskatchewan, Carrot and Pasquia Rivers from flooding. The Pasquia Reclamation Project was finally completed in 1965 - protecting valuable farmland from seasonal flooding and allowing the Carrot Valley agricultural region to thrive.

20

A flooded farm in Carrot River Valley.
1948
Carrot Valley, Manitoba


Credits:
PP93.18.304

21

A cow swimming in flood waters while its owner tries to direct it onto a barge.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Aurora Photo Studio
PP2002.23.48

22

Men leading horses near a barge full of cattle, with flood waters in the background.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Aurora Photo Studio
PP2002.23.49

23

Men directing cattle off a barge and onto the muddy ground, while surrounded by flood water.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Aurora Photo Studio
PP2002.23.50

24

1948 Flood in The Pas
18 May 2005
The Pas, Manitoba

25

Two men directing horses off a barge while surrounded by flood water.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Aurora Photo Studio
PP2002.23.51a

26

Horses leg-deep in flood water.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Aurora Photo Studio
PP2002.23.52

27

A line of horses walking through a body of flood water.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Aurora Photo Studio
PP2002.23.53

28

Pigs on a flooded farm.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Aurora Photo Studio
PP2002.23.54

29

A tractor travels along the road with a hay rack, horses, and cattle following, next to flood water.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Aurora Photo Studio
PP2002.23.55

30

A small house and a shed partially submerged in flood water.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Aurora Photo Studio
PP2002.23.56

31

Buildings and houses affected by the river flooding.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Aurora Photo Studio?
PP2002.23.57

32

A small farm affected by the flood of 1948.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Aurora Photo Studio
PP2002.23.58

33

Farm buildings are partially submerged, while a man walks at calf-level in the flood water.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Aurora Photo Studio
PP2002.23.59

34

View of the flood at The Pas, as seen from the Cambrian Hotel.
June 1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Kevin O'Brien Collection
PP91.26.73

35

View of the Saskatchewan River from the Cambrian Hotel.
June 1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Kevin O'Brien Collection
PP91.26.74

36

Flooded sports grounds.
June 1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Kevin O'Brien Collection
PP91.26.75

37

Canoeing on the flooded sports grounds, with Bishop Lajeunesse at the rear.
June 1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Kevin O'Brien Collection
PP91.26.77

38

Flood in Carrot Valley.
1948
Carrot Valley, Manitoba


Credits:
The Pas Historical Society Collection
PP93.18.447

39

Flood in the Carrot Valley.
1948
Carrot Valley, Manitoba


Credits:
The Pas Historical Society Collection
PP93.18.449

40

Flooded-out road in The Pas.
1948
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
PP2008.8.1

41

PFRA Pasquia Community Pasture Administration Building.
20th Century
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
Commodore
PP93.18.310a

42

Constructing a road to the Anderson farm, just across from the Nap Dam bridge.
Circa early 1950s
Carrot Valley, Manitoba


Credits:
PP2000.6.54

43

Hereford cattle being sorted at the CNR stockyards
20th century



Credits:
PP93.18.313b

44

Part of Tom Lamb's herd of pure-bred Hereford cattle.
20th Century
Moose Lake, Manitoba


Credits:
PP93.18.314a

45

Tom Lamb (center) and an unidentified man pose with three Hereford bulls.
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
PP2003.1.4

46

"Skippy L." pushing a barge with 1000 bales of hay from Summerberry River to Moose Lake.
20th Century
Moose Lake, Manitoba


Credits:
PP93.18.315b

47

Lumber, freight, and bulls from Brandon on a barge bound for Tomb Lamb's ranch at Moose Lake.
20th Century
Moose Lake, Manitoba


Credits:
PP93.18.316a

48

Stacking hay at Moose Lake off a barge at the Lamb Ranch.
20th Century
Moose Lake, Manitoba


Credits:
PP93.18.317a

49

Unidentified people standing near the "Pasquia Land Settlement Project" sign in winter.
20th Century
The Pas, Manitoba


Credits:
PP94.23.322