Icelandic River Heritage Sites

The goats from neighbouring Víðivellir paid s visit to the old Fagriskógur house to trim up the grounds before winter sets in. New shingled roof pending...

Facebook brought up this photo of Engimýri from eight years ago... What a transformation there has been since our group, Icelandic River Heritage Sites, took on the restoration of this historic house, which is now almost 120 years old.

CAN YOU HELP? The historic Fagriskógur house restoration... Phase 1: Save House: purchase, move, and place on new foundation: complete - cost $30,000. Phase 2: Structural (floors) reinforcement and board/batten style skirting to prevent water damage - complete, cost $5000. Phase 3: Emergency repairs to kitchen (lean-to) roof and wall - complete - cost: $5000. - Not $1 of government money was involved - all private donations and Icelandic River Heritage Sites funds. - Phase 4 ...will be a new cedar shingle roof to protect the interior of this house, which is still largely original and intact, and eventually we will be able to undertake restoration of the house exterior to its original look, with siding and window restoration and replacement of the architectural ornamentation that once graced the eaves, gable top, and dormer. - If you would like to support the new shingle roof, your tax deductible contribution would be most welcome at Icelandic River Heritage Sites, Box 555, Riverton, Manitoba R0C 2R0, cheques earmarked Fagriskogur house. More history of this historic house will follow. Also please check out our Icelandic River Heritage Sites Facebook page. See more

Nes Cemetery, Icelandic River... among our goals for the Nes Cemetery site is to provide information on the history of this historic place... A three-sided display kiosk has now been installed and three story panels will be added to the kiosk later this year. Further information will be provided at a later date.

Local poet and farmer Guttormur J. Guttormsson of Víðivellir at the legendary grave of Betsey Ramsay at Sandy Bar, likely shortly before Canada's Centennail year 1967 when some work was done to fix up the site. The picket fence in this photo is undoubtedly the one constructed by Trausti Vigfússon (circa 1907) as a result of his dream, in which John Ramsay asked him to tend the grave. The fence would have been about 60 years old at the time. That fence, in turn, was a replacement for an earlier one constructed many years before by Eiríkur Eymundsson of Oddi, who was a skilled boat builder and evidently a loyal friend to John Ramsay.

A fascinating old photo taken at Engimýri circa 1912... The occasion for the guns was that dogs had been killing sheep in the district. Left to right are Lára Borgfjörð(?) from Hvanneyri near Árborg (later wife of Beggi Jónasson); Sigurbjörn 'Beggi' Jónasson (youngest son of the Engimýri couple); Jóhannes T. 'Joe' Jónasson, also of Engimýri; Guttormur J. Guttormsson, neighbour to the north; Magnúsína 'Magga' Borgfjörð and her husband or husband-to-be, Tómas T. 'Tommmi' Jónasson of Engimýri; Jónas Magnússon (Jónas ´hundabani' /dog slayer) from Ós, across the river; and Guðrún Jóhannesdóttir Jónasson, lady of the house. New information is that the little girl is three year old Leonora McLennan, the daughter of Rannveig Rænka Jónasson from Engimýri.

Jónas Sigurðsson and Helga Egilsdóttir of Bakkasel - These very early photos are the only known images of "Jónas and Helga í Bakkaseli", the parents of Tómas Ágúst Jónasson, pioneer of Engimýri; Sigtryggur Jónasson, 'Father of New Iceland'; and Jónas Jónasson prentari, printer of the newspaper Framfari, published at Icelandic River from 1877 to 1880. The original photo of Jónas is owned by descendants in Iceland, from his daughter Ingibjörg who married Jón Jónasson of Flugumýri. Their daughter was Helga Jónsdóttir, last of Sauðárkrókur, wife of Stefán Vagnsson, and the photo was passed down in that branch of the family. It is very faded and was evidently touched up at some point in the distant past, then rephotographed. Jónas was born in 1819.

Icelandic River Heritage Sites is fortunate to be able to display several artifacts relating to Sigtryggur Jónasson, "Father of New Iceland", including his book trunk, several of his books (one of which is his dictionary), a gold headed cane presented to him on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of New Iceland, a presentation box from the Íslendingadagsnefnd (Icelandic Celebration Committee) on the occasion of his being a speaker in 1917, and his brass inkwell. These are displayed in Sigtryggsstofa (Sigtryggur's Room) in the historic house at Engimýri, where Sigtryggur resided and maintained an office from about 1920-1928.

The many moods of Lake Winnipeg... glimpses of the environment in which the pioneers found themselves when they arrived in New Iceland 145 years ago.

Engimýri... one of Icelandic River Heritage Sites' restoration projects at Riverton, Manitoba - a work in progress.

Season’s Greetings from Icelandic River Heritage Sites...

Icelandic River pioneers Friðsteinn Sigurðsson and Sesselja Sigurbjörnsdóttir, at one time of Fagranes and later of Möðruvellir, with their children Árni, Clara, and Sigurður. Clara became Mrs. Mayo and had one son Clarence Mayo, at one time postmaster in Riverton. The boys, though born in Canada, used the patronymic Friðsteinsson. there are no living descendants, though there are many relatives. - The second photo is of Friðsteinn's mother, Friðný Friðriksdóttir.

Icelanders on horseback circa 1895, photographed by Jón Blöndal (Baldwin & Blondal Studio, Winnipeg).

Coffee... an Icelandic tradition. Icelandic River Roast coffee beans make an excellent Christmas or holiday host gift. Orders: 204 378 2482 or [email protected]