The Icelanders in Kinmount

Canada's first large Icelandic settlement began in Kinmount Ontario in 1874. The Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto (ICCT) cherishes our historical beginnings in Canada. Therefore in 2000 we dedicated a memorial sculpture representing Icelandic immigrants in Kinmount Heritage Park titled "In the Presence of the Soul".

It all started in September 1874 along the Arctic shores of Iceland. Over 350 desperate souls on the edge of survival were heading for hardship and tragedy on the fringe of settlement at Kinmount Ontario.

At first they were housed in four primitive log shanties on the banks of the Burnt River, downstream from Kinmount …beds in the shanties were one above the other. It was scarcely possible to sit upright. This was an ill-fated settlement fuelled by an expanding railway line and supported by the Ontario government. …a local newspaper had championed the proposed construction of the railway, reflecting general excitement for the future. They blasted rock for railway construction, including the Kinmount station site, cleared the forest and worked in sawmills.

When the railway went broke in the spring of 1875, people were thrown out of work and faced starvation. Many scattered to other communities for employment. Others remained in the shanties while, in the spring, some took land in the area and began hacking farms out of the bush. The usual frontier hardships were their lot, including the loss of many young children. When western lands opened in 1875, they moved to found a new colony at Gimli Manitoba, others ventured east to Nova Scotia.

 ICE FEST , a celebration of our shared history, will enable us to continue our relationship with the Kinmount community which has warmly supported our work in recovering our past. We expect this to become an annual event as part of Kinmount's Moonlight Mania.

The ICCT invites you to join us in this celebration of food, athletic and cultural events in the village of Kinmount on the banks of the Burnt River:

Saturday, July 16^th, 2005
2:00 - 6:00 p.m.
Kinmount Heritage Park
Kinmount, Ontario

Further information about the event can be obtained by contacting the following people: Gudrun Girgis or Fran Moscall

The Path to Gimli

A journey by a small group of Icelandic horseman tracing the voyage of their ancestors to Gimli, Manitoba. It takes place in July 2005, and celebrates the 130th anniversary of official Icelandic settlement in Canada. The journey begins in Eyrarbakki, Iceland and will chronicle the horsemen as they recount the route their ancestors took to Gimli, Manitoba. The Canadian leg will begin in Kinmount during  ICE FEST , on July 16th.

See page 6 of the Fálkinn, May/June 2005 for more information.

Additional Reading & Resources: