Springfield

Springfield, Manitoba, incorporated as a rural municipality in 1873, population 14 069 (2011c), 12 990 (2006c). The Rural Municipality of Springfield was formed when Springfield and Sunnyside (Dugald) jointly incorporated on 1 September 1873 to form Manitoba's first municipality. It covers 1100 km² immediately east of WINNIPEG, with Birds Hill Provincial Park in the northwest and Agassiz provincial forest to the east. Its largest communities are the villages of Oakbank, Dugald and Anola. The municipality is governed by a reeve and 5 councillors.

Large-scale settlement by Ontario, British and American farmers occurred in the area in the early 1870s. Subsequent settlers included French Canadians, German, Ukrainian, Polish (see alsoPOLES), Belgian and Danish immigrants, and beginning in the 1950s, HUTTERITES. Mixed farming and gravel extraction have dominated Springfield's economy. Since the 1960s the area has experienced migration from Winnipeg of families wishing to combine urban employment with a country life-style.