Although at least four homesteads were established in about 1907, much of the area was barren until just after World War I. It was at this time that a number of Mennonite families living in the neighbouring East Reserve faced shortages of land for agricultural expansion. By 1920, a dozen Mennonite families had purchased land in the area and had begun establishing their new farms. Within a year of that, the area had its first church building, and by 1925 a school district had been organized.