History

Human habitation of the area goes back thousands of years, to the time when the shores of the Assiniboine River provided food and shelter for both bison and the Aboriginal peoples who hunted them.

A total of four archaeological excavations and several surface collections have been conducted in the area, with Qualico hosting a dig by the universities of Manitoba and Winnipeg as recently as 2004.

“They found artifacts relating to occupation of the land over a period of time extending back five thousand years,” said Eric Vogan, Qualico Land Development Manager. “This curve in the river where Assiniboine Landing is located was a crossing point for bison so people would camp here…”

Then came the wave of European exploration and settlement; Qualico took the development’s name from this era.

“We were aware that the parcel of land comprised a large portion of Lot 1 in the Municipality of Headingley, which was deeded to the Hall Family in 1859 by the Hudson Bay Company,” recounts Vogan. “They farmed the land but also established a homestead called The Hermitage.”

The Hermitage

The Hermitage was an open house, a refuge and a social centre for folks who settled in the area or were just passing through. It was also a port of call, or landing, for the river steamers that stopped for fuel or overnight, as they carried their loads of settlers west and returned with cargoes of produce bound for Winnipeg and points east or south. Hence the name Assiniboine Landing.