Kandahar village south of Big Quill Lake was given the name by Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.) workers because of a British victory in late 19th century in Afghanistan. The village is the smallest in the Lakes Settlements and was never incorporated. The inhabitants were always counted as part of the Rural Municipality of Big Quill. Two Icelanders from the Argyle Settlement in Manitoba settled in the village in 1910. They were Kristján Jónsson, son of Jón Hjálmarsson and Anna Kristjánsdóttir, and Torfi Steinsson from Akureyri and his wife Kristrún Pálína Jónsdóttir. Kristján and Jón opened a general store a little later which they operated until 1921.
Early Icelandic settlers: The land west of Wynyard gradually changed to an open, rolling prairie with some gullies here and there, hardly any trees, only a few small poplars and willows. Those opting for grain growing instead of mixed farming chose this open prairie, which worked well during wet cycles but was hopeless in the dry periods. Icelandic settlers in Argyle, Manitoba and the rural areas around Mountain, N. Dakota had acquired some experience in grain growing, and some of them headed out to the area west of Wynyard. The first, sons of Björn Sigvaldason from Húnavatnssýsla, who was a settler in N. Dakota, arrived in 1905. They were Arinbjörn, Björn, Eggert, and Jóhann who all homesteaded. Steingrímur Jónsson, son of Jón Rögnvaldsson and Guðleif Ólafsdóttir, who emigrated from Mýri in Bárðardalur in 1889, arrived in the area that same year, claimed land, and built a house. Steingrímur had farmed near Winnipeg for some ten years. Steingrímur Þorsteinsson (Thorsteinson) from S. Þingeyjarsýsla also arrived and homesteaded on May 17, 1905. His three sons, Þorsteinn, Pétur, and Jón all claimed land and settled. More settlers from N. Dakota arrived: Páll Eyjólfsson (Paul Eyjolfson) from Reyðarfjörður was one, another was Björn Jósefsson whose two sons, Benedikt and Guðmundur came with him. All three homesteaded in the area. The above mentioned settled east of Kandahar. Árni Stefánsson was the first one to explore area west of Kandahar. He chose land for himself, his father, Stefán Jónsson, his brother-in-law Kristján, his brother Jón, and his half -brother Haraldur. In the following years more and more drifted in mostly from the Argyle Settlement. Some of those had farmed there for several years and had gained valuable experience. People in the Lakes Settlements sometimes talked about the Argyle influence in the Kandahar area. Sons of Jóhannes Ólafsson from Húnavatnssýsla, Bjarni and Guðlaugur, homesteaded some 8 km (5 miles) south of Dafoe village as did Jóhannes, but he did not stay. He returned to New Iceland in Manitoba while his wife Margrét opted to stay in the area and moved in with her son, Guðlaugur.
English version by Thor group.