La Ronge

Keewatin Career Development Corporation(KCDC)

September 03, 2010

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La Ronge

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The town of La Ronge has held a rich history. The area was originally inhabited by the Cree Indians, who used the interconnecting rivers and lakes for transportation, hunting, and trading in summer and winter, through the use of canoes and dog teams. Later, fur traders came up the Churchill River from the east, settling on the north end of Lac La Ronge and using it as a base for further exploration.

The Churchill River bears evidence of human activity from many hundreds of years ago. Pictographs painted on the granite rocks with natural red ochre colours show hunting scenes which the early inhabitants recorded as they ventured out to find food for their families.

The fur trade years marked the beginning of accelerated activity in the area. The Northwest Company and the Revillion Freres were both active here, later combining to become the Hudson's Bay Company. There are several old fur trading posts around the shores of Lac La Ronge, many now buried by vegetation. Local historical authorities would prefer others not be found, so they will not be destroyed or disturbed by unthinking visitors.

While the north end of the lake was the site of the original posts, eventually the action polarized around Stanley Mission on the Churchill River and La Ronge at the south end of the lake. Routes from the south via the Montreal River also linked up with the activity of our lake.

Close on the heels of the fur trade came the churches, a major influence in forming permanent settlements. By the turn of the century, there was a Catholic community at Egg Lake; later a Catholic church was built near where the Montreal River bridge is now û the first Christian church in the area. But the Anglican denomination was destined to become dominant in the area, in spite of the fact that the Oblate fathers were bringing Catholicism to most of the north.

In 1906, the All-Saints Anglican Church was built on its current location on a rocky bluff overlooking Lac La Ronge. The settlement started to move from the river, and within a few years a large Anglican residential school had been built on the site of the former nurses residence. The church was instrumental in persuading the Cree that their children should attend school, and the boarding school allowed them to retain their traditional trapline way of life while children remained behind in school. How much of a favour this did the people is now coming into question, since it imposed foreign values and discouraged continuation of cultural behaviour.

The school had a large garden right in front of it, which grew the produce used in school meals. The street at that point dipped down to run where the beach is today. At one time there was also a small sawmill in what is now Patterson Park.

By 1914 the Hudson's Bay Company had established a post in town, on the current site of it's successor, the Northern Store. The company has been continuously on site since then which is over eighty years.

The Revillion Freres were not far behind. Their store was built on Irving Street, near the lakeshore. Eventually the two combined and Revillion became part of the Bay.

In 1948 the road from Prince Albert had been completed, and although it was a long and arduous journey, it reduced the need for the Montreal River as a major travel conduit. It also changed the outlook of the area from water-based to highway-based, since supplies and personnel, and eventually tourists came from the south now. The local population, though, never lost its dependence on water for getting places, and that has changed little today. There is total mobility by water or road û the best of both worlds.

The tourism industry started in the late 30's, when some people began to fly in to experience the rich fishing available on Lac La Ronge and other lakes. When the road was completed, more and more people began to arrive. Again, the water became important, this time to another type of user. It was not a primary means of travel but of secondary recreational importance.

Between the 1950's and 1970's the road gradually pushed north of La Ronge to take advantage of resource and increase mineral exploration.

The Otter Rapids bridge was built in the 1950's to cross the Churchill River. By the mid 1960's there was a gravel all-weather road to Southend and eventually Highway 105 to the western shore of Wollaston Lake was completed.

Today, the waterways are still the basis of the economy, whether for subsistence, tourism, aviation, wild rice, or just plain leisure, rest and relaxation. They are full of history, good for recreation, and still important for travel.

Source: Town of La Ronge / Rongenet Website

For a list of businesses in La Ronge, click here.

For the Environment Canada weather forecast for La Ronge, click here.

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Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.
-George Bernard Shaw

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