East Region
As with most of the francophone villages in southeast Manitoba, the history of Île-des-Chênes dates back to the late 1800s, when the Province of Manitoba purchased land from the Hudson’s Bay Company and in turn sold it to newcomers to the region.
Early settlers from Quebec occupied the land and turned the area into a farming and agricultural community. Every spring, the area around Île-des-Chênes would flood, forcing the settlers to seek refuge on higher ground. The most elevated point of the land surrounded by snowmelt was a place where oak trees grew in abundance, hence the town’s name of ” Île -des-Chênes” (“Oak Island”).
Today, Île-des-Chênes is an active, thriving bedroom community, only ten minutes south of Winnipeg along Highway 59. Île-des-Chênes offers the best of both worlds: the benefits of country living close to city convenience!
A visit to Manitoba means travelling through Treaty 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 territory and communities signatory to Treaties 6 and 10, the original lands of the Anishinaabeg, Anish-Ininiwak, Dakota, Dené, Iiniwak, and Nehethowuk and the homeland of the Métis Nation. Its ongoing existence is thanks to these ancestors and their present day relatives who continue to love and care for the land.