Manitoba House is the name of a Hudson's Bay Company fur trading post as well as a separate settlement adjacent to the post. The site is in the present-day Rural Municipality of Alonsa.
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Trading post
The Manitoba House Trading Post was established in 1797 on the west shore of Lake Manitoba, about fifteen miles south of the Narrows. Its original name was Doubtful Post, likely because of a lack of confidence in the survival of the post at the time of its establishment. Treaty 2 was signed on August 21, 1871, at Manitoba House. A number of notable individuals served at Manitoba House, including Isaac Cowie, as fur trader, and Archibald McDonald, as clerk.
Settlement
The Metis settlement adjacent to the trading post was referred to as simply the Manitoba House Settlement until 1889 when the name Kinosota was suggested by John Norquay for the local post office. The settlement consists of a number of long narrow lots strung out along the shore of Lake Manitoba. St. Bede's Anglican parish, located in Kinosota, was formed in 1842 by Reverend Abraham Cowley, and is one of the oldest Anglican parishes in Manitoba. The church building was constructed around the turn of the century, and was moved to higher ground in 1922.