Erickson

Erickson, Manitoba, incorporated as a town in 1997, population 487 (2011c), 456 (2006c). The Town of Erickson is located 18 km south of RIDING MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK and 73 km north of BRANDON. It was named after Albert Erickson, its first postmaster.

Swedish and Norwegian immigrants were among the first settlers in the region. They took up homesteads in the Otter Lake and Rolling River area on a reserve called Scandinavia or New Sweden, established in 1885 as part of a campaign to attract Scandinavian immigrants to Canada. The nearest railway was 30 km away, and extensive clearing was required before farming could begin. But the timber, soil, grazing, water and fishing resources were promising. A disastrous fire in 1885 and internal dissension hampered progress. Government assistance, a sawmill operation, railway, and road construction work saved the community. It was incorporated as a village in 1953.

Today Erickson is a local service centre for grain, dairy and mixed farms in a region that is also noted for its recreation.