Melita, Manitoba
Melita is a town located in the southwestern corner of the Canadian province of Manitoba. It is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Arthur and occupies a bend of the Souris River. The population, as of the 2006 census, is 1,051.[1] It sits at the junction of Highways 3 and 83, approx. 320 km southwest of Winnipeg. Melita is known as the "Grasslands Bird Capital of Manitoba"[2] and is located in Manitoba's banana belt.
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[edit] History
Evidence of First Nations habitation in the area includes the Linear Mounds Archaeological Site and the Brockinton Archaeological Site, which have provided artifacts dating back to 800 A.D.[3]
Charles West was the first recorded European settler, in 1879.[4] The early inhabitants chose the name "Melita" for the town after hearing a bible reading (Acts 28:1) about St. Paul's shipwreck on the island of Malta (Melita is an older name for the island).[5]
[edit] Notable residents
Betty Fox, cancer research activist and mother of Terry Fox, was raised in Melita.[6]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-550/Index.cfm?TPL=P1C&Page=RETR&LANG=Eng&T=302&SR=126&S=1&O=A&RPP=25&PR=46&CMA=0 (StatCan)
- ^ http://www.melitamb.ca/index.php?pageid=416
- ^ http://www.melitamb.ca/index.php?pageid=413
- ^ "Our First Century", Melita-Arthur History Committee, 1983
- ^ http://www.ourroots.ca/e/page.aspx?id=917978
- ^ Martin, Sandra (2011-06-18). "Betty Fox, cancer-advocacy champion and mother of Terry Fox, dies". Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/british-columbia/betty-fox-cancer-advocacy-champion-and-mother-of-terry-fox-dies/article2065487/singlepage/#articlecontent. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
[edit] External links
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Virden Pipestone |
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| Westhope, North Dakota |
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Subdivisions of 
Coordinates: 49°16′05″N 100°59′45″W / 49.26806°N 100.99583°W
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