Exhibits at the Fair 1955.
Credit: Echo
Rural and Municipal Developments
The crisis of World War II and postwar agricultural developments had a number of significant repercussions for some of Rhineland's rural residents. While diversification in the 1930's and 1940's had produced more intensive land use and made smaller farms again viable in Rhine land, farms were still increasing in size after the war. This increasing scale of farming, along with the fact that Rhineland was part of the most densely settled region in rural Manitoba, produced a serious land shortage after the war. Between 1941 and 1961 the average farm size in Rhineland increased from 183 acres to 225 acres, with the number of farms dropping from 1,249 to 1,012.67 Because of these developments many of the landless couples and younger residents began leaving the
| / | municipality. Between 1951 and 1961 alone over 2,400 people left Rhineland. |
Fig. 30
Births
| Rhineland | 2072 |
| Altona | 585 |
Source: Carvalho-Page Group.
Vital Statistics Rhineland and Altona 1951-1961
| Net | Net | Net |
| Increase | Immigration | Emigration |
| 1725 | 2442 |
| 428 | 154 |
Deaths 347 151
One specific instance of large scale emigration occurred in 1948 and was the result of both the land shortage in the municipality and
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