Breiðavík: North of Árnes in New Iceland, Lake Winnipeg forms a fairly large bay that settlers named Breiðuvík. The settlement there began in 1876, when 35 Icelandic families settled there. Reverend Jón Bjarnason answered a call from the settlers in 1877 and came to New Iceland on November 8 that year. He stayed at Gimli for a week but then set off north along the settlers, all the way to Mikley. He met with people in each settlement and discussed congregation matters. He celebrated Mass in Breiðuvík in Einar Bjarnason’s house on November 28, baptized and confirmed children and discussed church matters. A congregation was formed there, Breiðavíkursöfnuður. The people of Breiðuvík, like their other countrymen in New Iceland, persevered on their lands the first year, tried to clear it, dry it where necessary and tried fishing in the water. Shortly after the turn of the year 1878, it became clear that the future in New Iceland in those circumstances was not bright and many considered leaving. In the years 1878-1881, almost all the settlers in Breiðuvík disappeared, either to N. Dakota, the Argyle settlement in southern Manitoba, or to Winnipeg.
Hnausa Settlement: From the 1880s onwards, when train travel from eastern Canada to the west and the plains began to build, the flow of immigrants to Winnipeg increased. Icelandic settlers came to Quebec and from there on to Toronto and then Winnipeg. They and many of those who left New Iceland in the years 1878-1881 went to New Iceland and development in all settlements began. Breiðavík was no exception, there some returned to their lands and newcomers from Iceland joined the group. One of them was Rev. Magnús J. Skaptason, a priest from Hnausa in Húnavatnssýsla. He came west across the ocean in 1887, settled in Breiðuvík and named his farm Hnausa. He applied for a permit for a post office, got it and Hnausa P.O. came into being. From now on, the settlement will be called Hnausa.
Society: Kvenfélag (Women’s Society) was founded in the Hnausa Settlement in 1887. The first meeting of the society was held in March that year and the founders the society were Guðbjörg Marteinsdóttir, wife of Magnús Jónsson, Arnfríður Jónsdóttir, wife of Baldvin Jónsson, Guðrún Jónsdóttir, wife of Marteinn Jónsson, Sigríður Jónsdóttir, wife of Sigursteinn Halldórsson and Guðfinna Eiríksdóttir who later became the wife of Gunnstein Eyjólfsson. In the same year, a reading society was founded and it was called Norðurljós. The first librarian was Sigurbjörn Jónsson. A meetinghouse was built in 1886 which was also the schoolhouse of the settlement for many years. The Breiðavík congregation was rebuilt in 1887 and Magnús Jónasson was its promoter. A church was built and consecrated in 1906. Probably the greatest sign of recovery in the settlement was the pier that was completed on April 12, 1896.
Trade and commerce: The brothers Stefán, 11 years old, and Jóhannes, 7 years old, Sigurðsson were very young when they came west with their parents in 1876 and settled in Mikley. They named their land Skógar. They worked with their father to rebuild the settlement and grew up there. Mikley became a stopping point for fishermen who searched north on Lake Winnipeg and opened numerous fishing grounds there. Fish from Lake Winnipeg became popular across the continent, with connections between Winnipeg, Chicago, and New York established. The brothers seized the opportunity, founded the company Sigurdson Brothers, Merchants and Fish Dealers in Bræðrahöfn at Hnausa around 1890.
Stefan Sigurðsson´s house and the store at Hnausa.
Their store there flourished, especially after the pier came into existence in 1895 but it was built from the store. They did not stop because in 1897 they had acquired their own ship, the “Lady of the Lake”, which was both a passenger ship and a cargo ship. One of the first projects was to move 30 Icelanders from N. Dakota to New Iceland. They boarded at Winnipeg and sailed to Hnausa to meet relatives and friends. Fish transport from New Iceland to the market in Selkirk or Winnipeg became daily bread.
English version by Thor group.