The first settlers in the Elfros district arrived in 1903. Some had left Iceland as young children with their parents and grew up in an Icelandic community in Manitoba, N. Dakota, or Minnesota. Others were born in such community, an example being Jón Hallgrímsson Goodman, born in New Iceland in 1877. His wife, Sigþrúður (Thruda) was 1 year old when she left Iceland in 1888 for Winnipeg with her parents, Guðvaldi Jónsson and Kristín Þorgrímsdóttir. Gunnar Gíslason was 5 years old when he emigrated from Iceland in 1883 with his parents, Gísli Jónsson and Jarðþrúður Halldórsdóttir. Gunnar´s wife, Anna Jakobína Bjarnadóttir, was born in the Þingvalla Settlement in 1887 so her journey from home to Elfros was short. Her parents were Bjarni Stefánsson and Elín Eiríksdóttir, settlers in the Þingvalla settlement. Ólafur Ólafsson emigrated from Iceland in 1893 along with his widowed mother, Arndís Sigurðardóttir, and his brothers. He homesteaded in the Elfros district in 1903. Áskell Jónsson (Keli J. Brandsson) from Dalasýsla and his wife, Oddný Guðmundsdóttir from Skagafjarðarsýsla, settled in the region in 1903 and lived there until 1912. During the period 1903-1906, some 40 families and individuals had settled in the district, many of whom lived there for many years.
Birch Creek in Lakes settlement. Photo Prairie Towns
Just west of the Elfros village, Birch Creek flows north into Little Quill Lake. Both sides of the creek are heavily wooded and Sigurður Arngrímsson, a young settler, capitalized on the opportunity to build his wooden home on the west bank.
English version by Thor group.