Lundar and Oak Point - The Early Icelandic Settlements

By Alfreda Duffy and Patty Johnson

Icelandic Roots is exploring the Interlake district along Lake Manitoba during August as part of its North American settlement theme. The lakes and waterways adjacent to fields for raising livestock and farming attracted the Icelandic settlers. Here we look at two of those locations, Lundar and Oak Point.

Oak Point, a tiny hamlet, is just over an hour's drive north of Winnipeg on Highway #6. Still heading north for an additional 15–20 minutes, you will arrive in Lundar. Today that is nothing in terms of time to get somewhere.

In the early days of Icelandic emigration, Oak Point was an important stop for travellers heading north from Winnipeg or for those travelling back south to return to the ever-expanding city.

Before the railway arrived, it took days by oxcart travelling over rough trails to get there. During the settlement period, immigrants would traverse this trail, which cut through the hamlet, offering them a chance to refresh and stock up on supplies if needed. That same trail continued within the Interlake area along the eastern side of Lake Manitoba where a designated plot of land was waiting for each family. This route was known as the Oak Point Colonization Road, a trail system used by the Saulteaux and Cree people who travelled to Oak Point to trade furs for goods.

For the early settlers, this little hamlet had the rooming houses and the supply stores. Today, reminders of this trail system still exist with street names such as King Edwards Street and Oak Point Road, routes still used to leave the bustling city of Winnipeg to travel north. They were once upon a time part of this Colonization Road but today their part in this trail has long been forgotten.

Oak Point was a fur trade outpost circa 1862–1889. Located on the southeast end of Lake Manitoba, it was initially an outpost of Manitoba House. By 1867, it had become fully established. From 1875 to 1880, it served as the headquarters of the Manitoba District. In 1885, most of the business of the post was transferred to St. Laurent due to poor returns. By June 30, 1889, Manitoba House was closed. Despite this closure Oak Point survived with several businesses and rooming houses. Our great-grandparents managed one of them, which had the post office from the 1920s to the 1930s, and our afi managed another one from 1922 to 1924. Today, all that is left there are residential houses and farms.

My paternal great-grandparents, Jón Jónsson/Eiriksson (I334689) and Sigriður Bjarnadóttir (I334690), emigrated from Iceland in 1893 and began their journey to ownership in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Later in 1899, they sold what they owned in the city and along with any savings they had, they managed to raise about $200.00; enough to purchase a farm in Mary Hill, approximately 7 miles south of Lundar.

Mary Hill was part of an Icelandic settlement called Alftavatn Bygd (Shallow Water). Their farm had a habitable dwelling, a large log house, plus a well and a dilapidated barn that required urgent replacement. In 1899 they travelled to this farm with their children. I used their journey because it is a documented example of some of the difficulties emigrants from Iceland and other lands faced settling into this isolated part of the province.1 

Sigriður, along with three of her children, sat on boards laid across their belongings with crates of chickens behind them in an oxcart driven by Jón’s cousin Grimur Scheving. Their oldest child walked with his father. Their fifth and youngest child at that time, Bergsveinn (Beggi), was only three weeks old. He was likely covered with something light enough to protect the child against the heat and bugs and held either in Sigriður’s arms for feeding or slept in a box at her feet. Their last child, Hilda, was born two years later after they were settled.

This was Manitoba, and in July, with its blazing sun and its 100,000 lakes, it would have been hot and humid. Along with the mosquitoes, too horrendous to even imagine, they made their way over very rough trails—all of which impeded their journey. Jón and his son Bjarni, then only eleven years old, herded the livestock on foot, which dictated their movements and slowed them down.

Deep ruts gouged out by previous oxcarts on a fragile path that was fighting for its very existence against Manitoba’s quick-growing shrubs. This made the journey a difficult trek. They not only travelled over this rough solid land, but they likely had to cross makeshift log bridges built over swampy parts or the many creeks that cut through the open landscape.

To make matters worse, after three days of struggling in the heat, a storm blew in, drenching everyone and flooding their belongings. Fortunately, they were close to a homestead owned by a non-Icelander where they were welcomed to stay. For the night, at least, they were dry and safe from the voracious appetites of the mosquitoes. Jón’s cousin Eirikur Guðmunðsson arrived soon after to transport Sigriður and the children north to her cousin Jón Sigurðsson in Mary Hill, where they remained until Grímur, Jón, and 11-year-old Bjarni arrived with their livestock and belongings. Having family connections during the early emigration period was crucial for some and extremely valuable to any migrant family. Like most settlers before them, they survived those hardships and finally arrived at their farm and made it a success. 

The farming district of Mary Hill was only a few miles north of Oak Point in the Alftavatn-bygð (Shallow Water) Settlement. It was likely named Shallow Water because Lake Manitoba is shallower than Lake Winnipeg. Other districts were Swan Creek, Minnewaken, Posen, and Lily Bay, which were all located along Lake Manitoba. Posen, Minnewaken, and Lily Bay were previously settled by some Indigenous groups, mixed with some Europeans. The rest were mainly inhabited by Europeans who were predominantly Icelanders.

The Grunnavatns-bygð (Shoal Lake Settlement) was east of this settlement. Included in that one were Lundar-bygð, the districts of Otto, Stony Hill, Markland, Vestfold, Hove, Lindal vatn (Lake), and Burnt Lake, also settled mainly by

Lundar circa 1957

Icelanders. Most of the area names no longer exist. Lundar people still refer to Otto and Stony Hill, and Burnt Lake is still known by its name of the lake. Few settlers went to Burnt Lake before 1890; it was known for its cold winters and was often referred to as Siberia. Grunnavatn-bygðt later became known as the Lundar Settlement. Once the railway line came as far as Lundar, more Icelandic emigrants began to settle there, including some already established businesses and people from Oak Point. Lundar soon grew into a thriving community servicing all the farm districts mentioned.

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Sources

1 For Sigriður’s autobiography, see: Jónsson, Einar. “An Emigrant Family” in Odinn Magazine. Trans. Almár Grímsson, ed. Sunna Olafson Furstenau. Retrieved from: IR Database/Special Collections/Women and Children’s Stories ; In Icelandic: Jónsson, Einar. “Vesturfara fjölskylda.” Oðinn. Iceland: Jan 1931. Retrieved from: https://timarit.is/page/2293075 : 09 Jul 2026.