Work began along the anticipated route of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1874, surveyors were impressed with the Turtle Mountain region and noted it would become a chief point of settlement in the coming years. The site of the town of Boissevain was decided by the CPR in 1885. By 1886 there was a blacksmith shop, a post office and two grain warehouses. The new settlement was named in honour of a Dutch financier, Adolf Boissevain, who introduced CPR shares for sale in Europe.