HISTORY
The village of Badger began as a railway station along the Manitoba and
Southern Railway in 1900. The opening of this heavily timbered land by the
railway brought many immigrants from central Europe and the British Isles to the
area. Many of the immigrants spent their savings on the passage to Canada
and; therefore, could not afford to live in the city where jobs were scarce and
the cost of living quite high.
So the immigrants had to make a living off the forest. For $10, a
person could buy 160 acres of land covered with thick stands of pine, cedar,
spruce, poplar, and tamarack. A homesteader then had three years to clear
10 acres and receive a patent for the land. The land provided the lumber
to build a house and other farm buildings, and to sell as firewood, pulpwood,
and railway ties.
Amongst the earlier settlers in Badger were William and Jane Dee in
1906.
