The Gathering Place

Roseau River Park

In 1969 Henry and Ada donated part, about 50 acres of the land from the original homestead of Thomas and Maria Pott, for the site of Roseau River Park. Community efforts have made it a lovely spot for camping and holding community events. This is the site that the descendants of Thomas & maria have gathered to celebrate their arrival to Canada in 1892. In 1992 the family gathered to mark the 100th anniversary of that journey. Every 5 years since the family have gathered to reunite with old family and to meet the new. The river that runs along site of the property was a source of water, fishing, transportation and pleasure. In Winter the river was where the family cut ice to fill the ice house to provide refrigeration for the summer months.


This is the plaque that was mounted on a cairn inside the park by the main banquet hall. The hall was a old one room school house that was moved onto the property. It is fully equipped with a dining hall, washrooms, and a kitchen.











View of the Roseau River south of the main entrance. The river can go from being a roaring water way overflowing its banks in the spring to a slow and lazy flow in the summer to enjoy canoeing, tubing, fishing and a cool dip in the hot summer sun.

View of the river looking south from the main banquet hall tempting even the most weary soul.

The park has evolved from a acreage that cattle and horses roamed around on to a place that you can pull in with a RV camper, pitch a tent or stop over for a picnic lunch. The grounds are equipped with new showers and washroom facility, play structure for the young at heart, ball diamond, outdoor rink, volley ball pit, bike and hiking trails and pure fresh air to sit back and get lost in your thoughts.

 















This is a view of the river looking north from the main hall. My mom told me a story once (actually several times) about the times that she would be visiting with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Ada, when she was much younger, and she would go with them on the back of a horse drawn wagon across the river to run errands on the other side of the river. This was when there was no bridge across the river. As they were crossing the shallow section of the river the wagon hit a rock and her and a cousin sitting on the tail gate were bounced right into the cool water.  The river is now crossed by a bridge on Hwy. 59 which gives easy access to the park entrance.