Niverville, Manitoba, a town nestled in the Eastman Region of Canada, is a charming blend of history and modernity. It is situated between the northwest corner of the Rural Municipality of Hanover and the southeastern portion of the Rural Municipality of Ritchot. As of the 2021 census, Niverville is home to 5,947 residents, making it the largest town and the 10th-largest community in Manitoba.
The history of Niverville, Manitoba dates back to 1874, following the establishment of the Mennonite East Reserve. William Hespeler, who had recruited Mennonites to the area, saw the opportunity to develop a rail station to supply the new Mennonite settlements. The location was selected by railway tycoon Joseph Whitehead. Initially, the town that grew around the station was named Hespeler, but it eventually became known by the name of the railway station, Niverville, after 18th-century explorer and fur trader Chevalier Joseph Boucher de Niverville.
In 1879, Hespeler built the first grain elevator in western Canada, a unique round structure, in Niverville. Originally within the Rural Municipality of Hanover, Niverville was incorporated as a village in 1969. In 1970, Niverville hosted the first rock festival in Manitoba, the Niverville Pop Festival. The town has expanded on multiple occasions through annexation of land from the Rural Municipality of Ritchot to the west and Hanover to the east and north. It was incorporated as a town in 1993. Today, many inhabitants are Mennonite or British, with a growing number of immigrants of other backgrounds. In recent years, Niverville has grown into a "bedroom community" of Winnipeg and is among the fastest growing towns in the province.
Niverville, Manitoba lies in the Red River Valley. It is located at the crossing of Provincial Road 311 and the CPR Emerson rail line, between Provincial Road 200 and Provincial Trunk Highway 59.
In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada, Niverville had a population of 5,947 living in 1,971 of its 2,010 total private dwellings, a change of 29% from its 2016 population of 4,610. With a land area of 8.7 km2 (3.4 sq mi), it had a population density of 683.6/km2 (1,770.4/sq mi) in 2021.
Niverville hosts an annual Niverville Olde Tyme Country Fair, which is held the second weekend of June. The town's Community Resource and Recreation Centre (CRRC) is the community's main indoor recreation complex that houses an athletic fieldhouse, theatre, and an ice hockey arena that is home to the Niverville Nighthawks of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and Niverville Clipper ice hockey teams. Other recreational facilities include the Niverville Centennial Arena, Niverville Curling Club, an outdoor tennis court located at Niverville Middle School, a fitness and dance gym, a nine-hole golf course, and Hespeler Park. The Crow Wing Trail also runs through the town. A heritage wall documenting Niverville's history was opened on Main Street in 2021. A museum documenting local history, including a Red River Ox Cart, is located on the second floor of the CRRC.
Niverville improved its Water Treatment Plant in 2012, expanding the reservoir to 1.2 megalitres. In June 2017, hot, dry weather caused higher water usage, and the town notified residents to cut back on water usage because the reservoir could not be replenished quickly enough. A new well field opened in 2017 to prevent future water shortages.
