Previous to the year 1878 the district around Arrow River was uninhabited. The first settler to take up land was William Elliott, who came to Manitoba in 1878, and in the early spring of 1879 he came from Winnipeg to Rapid City: There, he saw in the real estate office of Wm. Thompson, a surveyed map of a townsite called Fiaonga. This was supposed to be in the Assiniboine Valley, near the mouth of the Arrow River. Natives of Manitoba living near Winnipeg told him to be sure and settle where there was plenty of wood and running water.

He bought a pony and cart and started west from Rapid City. The only settlers on the way from Rapid City were around where Oak River is now situated. He liked the appearance of the land here and homesteaded on section 23-13-26[-W1]. His father, James Elliott, came out from Guelph during the summer and took up a homestead on 25-13-26[-W1], returning to Guelph in the fall.

In the spring of 1880, James Elliott Jr., joined his brother, and in the following spring they built the first log house. Previous to this they lived in a dug-out; a hole in the bank of the Arrow River was dug and roofed, with a front wall built in.

The Indians named the Arrow River, the Indian name being Wa-hink-a-pa Wak-a-pa (the a as in-father). It meant "Swiftness". The river, in the early days, was filled with water from bank to bank, and on account of the fall to the Assiniboine, the current was very strong.

The spring of 1882 brought several families to the district. Messrs. Jas. Elliott Sr., D. McKenzie, Thos. Stubbins, J. Lelond, Jas. Mitchell, Jas. Wiggins and J. Wallace settled on their homesteads. These incoming settlers made it necessary to have a school, and a school district was formed in 1883.

The first Postmaster was Mr. Jas. Elliott Sr., mail being brought first from Birtle, but on completion of the C.P.R. main line the mail route was changed. The mail carrier William Elliott, then brought it from Elkhorn at first only once a week, but later twice a week.

(Written in 1931 by Mrs. J. M. Elliott)

The last resting place for many local pioneers and their families, the Arrow River cemetery, on the south east quarter of 36-13-26, was neither selected nor planned. Two little graves mark its beginning, those of Murdoch and John McKenzie, born 1874 and 1876 respectively and buried in June 1882. They were the victims of diphtheria which they contracted on the boat that brought them up the river. A few days after their arrival, they were laid to rest on the land of their father, Donald McKenzie. Thus the cemetery was begun and the plots marked with wooden pegs.

By laws taken from council minutes concerning the cemetery tell the story of its formation and planning. "December 1889 - Be it therefore enacted - that the municipality - do purchase a cemetery site near the south west corner of the south east quarter of 36-13-26[-W1], to consist of one acre.

The first caretaker was W. Lelond, from 1892 to 1895. Through the years, others kept the map of the cemetery, receiving from $5 to $10 yearly in payment.

After the formation of the Women's Institute, a beautification project for the cemetery was undertaken. A caretaker, on salary, was hired by the council to cut the grass, and so on. In 1932 a plot was set aside for returned soldiers. Mr. Ab Richardson was caretaker, then Mr. J. M. Elliott spent several years caring for and improving these grounds, followed by Percy Iles and George Torrance, the present caretaker [1967].

In 1956 the Community Centre took over the responsibility of caring for the cemetery from the W.I.

As this cemetery was one of the first in the area, pioneers from Lenore, Blaris, Arrowton, and other districts were buried here. They are gone but not forgotten, for loving hands tend their graves.

(Source: Bridging the Years, 1879 - 1967, p 53, p 71 [1967; Adapted])

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Established in 1889 with its first burials as of 1882.

It has a hedge most of the way around it, with lots being 16 x 16 feet, generally

(Source: Manitoba Genealogical Society [Adapted])

(Source: Manitoba Historical Society [Adapted])

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Dominion Land Survey coordinates: LSD02-36-13-26-W1

In the Municipality of Prairie View

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As noted above, a part of the community's story, and those of its inhabitants, from the early days of European settlement through roughly 1967 is told in the volume "Bridging the Years, 1879 - 1967", especially starting on the cited pages. A free digital version of this and many other Manitoba local history books can be found online in the University of Manitoba Digital Collections. There is also a list of such books organized by district and town name on the Manitoba Historical Society's website on their page entitled "Finding Aid: Manitoba Local History Books".

A list of burials in this cemetery is available from the Manitoba Genealogical Society (reference #nnnn), transcribed by a member or members in NNNN and updated in NNNN. Also available to MGS members is a searchable online database named the "MGS Manitoba Name Index" (or MANI). Some additional information is contained in the 1996 MGS publication "Carved in Stone: Manitoba Cemeteries and Burial Sites" (revised edition, Special Projects Publication, 106 pages).