Title: Skapti Arason fonds

Dates: [ca. 1900]

Extent: 0.5 cm of textual records

Biographical Sketch: Skapti Arason was born in Iceland
in 1850 and in 1874 immigrated to Quebec, with 360 other
Icelanders, on a ship operated by the Allen ship lines.
After arriving in Quebec, Arason proceeded on to Toronto
with the majority of the other Icelanders. In 1875,
Arason was sent by the Canadian government to scout
out settlement prospects in the new province of Manitoba.
It is believed that Arason was one of the first Icelanders
to visit Manitoba. Upon arrival in Winnipeg, Arason and
three other Icelanders traveled up the Red River and onto
the western shore of Lake Winnipeg before choosing to
begin a settlement near present day Gimli. In 1881, due
to repeated crop failure, Arason left the settlement on
the Interlake and resettled on a homestead near what
would become the town of Glenboro. Arason farmed in
the Glenboro area until his death in 1903.

Digitized Material: The digitized material from the Skapti
Arason fonds includes a copy of a memoir by Skapti
Arason, one of the first Icelandic settlers to Manitoba.
The seven-page memoir tells of Skapti's immigration to
Canada, his subsequent travels to Manitoba, the settling
of the Icelandic community on the western shore of Lake
Winnipeg and the founding of the town of Glenboro.

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