Grand Valley

Grand Valley

Grand Valley, Man, is a provincial recreation area 10 km west of Brandon on the Trans-Canada Highway. Once a community on the north bank of the ASSINIBOINE RIVER, Grand Valley died when BRANDON, 3 km west on the south bank of the Assiniboine, was created in 1881 as the Canadian Pacific Railway's (CPR) divisional headquarters. Settlers from Nova Scotia and Québec homesteaded here 1877-79. Population, stores and services grew. Several attempts were made to entice the CPR to locate at Grand Valley but the rivalries involved, combined with spring flooding in 1881, caused the higher site of Brandon to be chosen. Homesteaders moved across the river; businessmen moved to Chater or Brandon. By 1884 only a few houses remained, and the townsite eventually reverted to a homestead.