Melita, Manitoba

Melita
Town
View of Front Street in Melita.
Melita
Coordinates: 49°16′05″N 100°59′45″W / 49.26806°N 100.99583°W / 49.26806; -100.99583Coordinates: 49°16′05″N 100°59′45″W / 49.26806°N 100.99583°W / 49.26806; -100.99583
Country Canada
Province Manitoba
Area
 • Metro 2.97 km2 (1.15 sq mi)
Population (2016)
 • Town 1,042
 • Density 342.7/km2 (888/sq mi)
Time zone UTC−5 (CST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC−6 (CDT)

Melita is a town located in the southwestern corner of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Arthur and occupies a bend of the Souris River. The population at the 2016 census was 1,042.[1] It sits at the junction of Highways 3 and 83, approx. 320 km southwest of Winnipeg. Melita is known as the "Grasslands Bird Capital of Manitoba"[2] and is located in Manitoba's banana belt.

History

Evidence of First Nations habitation in the area includes the Linear Mounds Archaeological Site and the Brockinton Archaeological Site, which have provided artifacts dating back to 800 A.D.[3] The site has been designated a National Historic Site of Canada.[4]

Charles West was the first recorded European settler, in 1879.[5] The early inhabitants chose the name "Melita" for the town after hearing a Bible reading (Acts 28:1) about St. Paul's shipwreck on the island of Malta (Melita is an older name for the island).[6]

Notable people

Betty Fox, cancer research activist and mother of Terry Fox, was raised in Melita.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Melita, Town". Census Profile. Statistics Canada.
  2. ↑ "Bird Watching". Town of Melita. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  3. ↑ "Historical Interest". Town of Melita. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  4. ↑ Linear Mounds. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
  5. ↑ "Our First Century", Melita-Arthur History Committee, 1983
  6. ↑ Ham, Penny (1980). Place Names of Manitoba. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Western Producer Prairie Books. p. 83. ISBN 9780888330673.
  7. ↑ Martin, Sandra (2011-06-18). "Betty Fox, cancer-advocacy champion and mother of Terry Fox, dies". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
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