Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques

Icelandic Settlement - Riverton

In 1875 the first group of Icelandic settlers in the Canadian west, bound for the mouth of the Whitemud River, were forced by circumstances to land at Willow Point, further south. There they founded Gimli, but the following year upwards of 1200 settlers located themselves along the west shore of Lake Winnipeg as far as Hecla Island. They renamed the White Mud the Icelandic River. Besides Gimli two towns were surveyed, one called Sandy Bar at the mouth of the Icelandic River, and Lundi, which was later renamed Riverton.