Warren, Manitoba * Historical Tid-Bits – by Claire Guenther….

• Early settlers made their living from the land, coming to the area as early as 1873.   Ridges were broken to grow grain, sloughs provided fodder for livestock.  Land was productive, and records show that farmers entered fairs, and won prizes in wheat and butter in early 1900. 
• Warren did not appear by name until 1904 with the laying of the Canadian Northern Railway from Winnipeg to Oak Point.  The name was adapted from a railway official, A.E. Warren, who later became Vice-President of the CNR founded in 1921.
• A railway siding and loading platform were erected in 1906. In 1913-14 a second station was built on foundation of the CN Railway Co. The CN station was closed in 1965. A freight and passenger shed replaced the station but was only used for a short time.
• The first grain elevator in the community was built in 1910 by Arthur Lobb, but it was later sold to George Tait. The second was built by Ogilvie Mills and was purchased by Federal Grain Company in 1928.  In 1937 an elevator was built Federal Grain Co., across from the CN station, with the annex added in 1953. The Olgilvie was torn down and rebuilt in Fisher Branch.  In 1948 Manitoba Pool built a new elevator and added an annex in 1956.  MB Pool bought out Federal Grain in the late 60’s and the elevators became known as “A” and “B”.  The former Federal elevator was torn down in 1980.  A bulk fertilizer depot was established by Pool in 1982.
• A rail line was laid in 1880, “Air Line” which was later expropriated, and is now McDonald Ave. which runs through the centre of the village.
• Education was offered in 1800’s with three one-room schools in the area, which were the old Meadow Lea School District, the Hanlan School District which was formed in 1893, and Invicta School which was built in 1902.  In 1910 these schools were consolidated in the village of Warren where population growth was occurring.  The School was called Hanlan and was burned in a fire in 1956, and a new one-storey school was completed in 1957.  In 1967 the Interlake School Division, which was established in 1959, made the decision to discontinue with local school boards.  Many of the one-room schools in the RM were closed at this time and the grade 1-8 children were moved to the larger schools at Warren. A Collegiate was built in Warren in 1961 for all students in the area, including neighboring Rosser Municipality students, but excluding Argyle and Erinview students.  Kindergarten was offered in 1971.  Additions to the schools were made in 1975.
• The Methodist Church was built in 1913, and became the United Church in 1925.  The Warren Methodist Ladies organized in 1910, which are now known as United Church Women’s group.  These ladies raised money for the church; one fundraiser was the Fall Supper first held in Nov. in 1911.  The Fall Supper has been held yearly to this date.  A Manse was built in 1926 for the Minister and family to live in but was sold many years later. Additions were made to the church in 1985.
• A Bank of Hamilton opened in 1918 but did not prove successful.  A store was opened which has changed hands over the years, and is now Pete’s General Store.    Another store in Warren, built in 1911, closed its doors in 1985 and was owned by L & C Brown.  Doak’s owned a store across from the school 1910-40; later became a lunchroom and poolroom.  The building was vacant when it burned down in 1971.
• A Post Office has been in the community since 1885. The original office was the Hanlan post office and was operated in the house of Mr. MacDonald which was changed to Warrenton in 1907. A new post office building was built in 1980 and continues to service the community. The personal service of a postmaster/mistress in Warren is valued by the residents as postal systems change more and more toward outdoor mailboxes.  
• The Agricultural Hall was built in 1914, which served as a two sheet-curling rink in the winter.  The present curling rink was built in 1968.  The community had an open-air rink for hockey and skating until 1957, when the current rink was built.  Renovations have been made to update these facilities over the years.
• The Warren Memorial Hall was built in 1939 with a new addition built in 1981.
• The Warren Fire Hall building was moved from Woodlands in 1978.
• In 1918 the land adjacent to the National Railway right-of-way was purchased from Robert Jones for the Warren Cemetery.
• Health services were provided by a Public Health Nurse in 1921. An office was located in front of Ritchie’s Hardware Store.

click here to go to History of the Warren Grain Elevator

click here to go to History of the West Interlake Trading Company