Stonewall Mb

Stonewall is a town in the Canadian province of Manitoba with a population of 4,536 as of the 2011 census. The town is situated approximately 25 kilometres (16 mi) north of Winnipeg on PTH 67. It is known for its limestone quarries. The local festival is the Quarry Days which is usually held over three days in August on Main Street. The town is located in the R.M. of Rockwood.

History

When the last ice age retreated, as well as the prairies, escarpments such as Riding Mountain were left behind. In addition to these, smaller elevations were left behind such as Stony Mountain and Stonewall. It is believed that these escarpments were used as look-outs by early hunters approximately 4,000 to 5,000 years ago. These formations were later used as buffalo jumps by the indigenous populations.

Stonewall was founded by Samuel Jacob Jackson in 1878, after he acquired the land the town is built upon in 1875. However, Jackson did not move to Stonewall himself until 1881.

In the early 1880s, the quarry opened with the focus of their operation being the production of quicklime. During the peak times of the quarry, large amounts of dynamite was used for blasting the rock. The dynamite was kept in the powder magazine which has since be rebuilt near the entrance to Stonewall Quarry Park.