Pilot Mound is a small town in southern Manitoba, more than 180 km (112 miles) southwest of Winnipeg. The provincial government, in collaboration with the Government of Canada, began planning a settlement on the Canadian plains west of Manitoba after 1870. Immigrants flocked to Canada annually from Europe, sailing to Quebec and from there by train to Toronto, Ontario. The first Icelanders left Ontario in 1875, sailing along the Great Lakes of the United States west to Duluth, Minnesota. From there they took a train to the Red River and traveled down it (north) on a steamship to Winnipeg. They settled in New Iceland. As the railroad reached from Toronto to Winnipeg, the influx of immigrants westward set their sights on the plains. Great emphasis was placed on transportation, mainly railroads, and around Manitoba, north-south and west-east tracks were laid. The history of Icelanders in Western Canada for the last two decades of the 19th century is very much related to railway work, for example, in the district around Pilot Mound.
Icelandic Settlement
When emigration from New Iceland peaked in 1880-1881, many settlers moved to areas southwest of Winnipeg. Icelandic settlements formed around the village of Baldur, all the way north to Glenboro and Cypress River. Young men and single people took part in all kinds of work available, many working for farmers clearing land, sowing and harvesting crops. Others were employed in a large-scale railway in the area shown on the map. Usually, villages were formed where some settlers opened a post office and a small shop. The railway companies worked with the provincial government to lay the tracks and a settler was often given permission to open a post office due to the location of his land. In the years 1887-1889, many Icelanders came west to Winnipeg, many directly from home. Icelandic settlements grew rapidly and became more densely populated west and southwest of the city. Elinborg Jóhannsdóttir, a widow from Dalasýsla, came west there with her sons, Einar and Árni. Árni came west to Winnipeg in 1887 and got a railroad job. His mother and brother arrived a year later, and the family settled in Pilot Mound. In 1894 Kristín Magnúsdóttir from Hörðudalur in Dalasýsla joined the community and in 1896 she married Árni. Elinborg had become ill at that time and went to Winnipeg for treatment but died there in 1899. Árni, Kristín and Einar then moved north to the Swan Lake Settlement (Álftavatnsbyggð) north of Lundar and lived there after that.
Pilot Mound at the turn of the century. Photo: Prairie Towns