Did you know?
Métis families made salt for the Red River Settlement
From 1818, the Monkman family boiled brine from salt springs on Lake Winnipegosis, making about 1,000 bushels a year by the 1870s. The salt travelled in birch-bark rogans by York boat and Red River cart, until the railway brought cheap salt and ended the trade in the 1880s.
Read the full story: Lake Winnipegosis salt springs
More salt facts
Cite this page
For school projects and reports. Teachers often prefer the original sources too: see the list below.
The Salt Almanac. (2026, November 8). Métis families made salt for the red river settlement. https://saltalmanac.com/did-you-know/metis-salt-makers-manitoba
“Métis families made salt for the Red River Settlement.” The Salt Almanac, 8 Nov. 2026, saltalmanac.com/did-you-know/metis-salt-makers-manitoba. Accessed [today's date].
“Métis families made salt for the Red River Settlement.” The Salt Almanac. Last modified November 8, 2026. https://saltalmanac.com/did-you-know/metis-salt-makers-manitoba.
Original sources
- Petch, V. Salt-Making in Manitoba. Manitoba History 51, 2006. https://mhs.mb.ca/docs/MB_history/51/saltmaking.shtml