The RM of Manitou Lake No. 442 incorporated as a rural municipality on December 12, 1910. It takes its name from
Manitou Lake, which is
Algonquian for "mysterious being". In 1905, the first settlers came from Canadian regions, the
British Isles, and the
United States. The area was known as the Manitou Lake District. In 1907-1908 a post office was established in the home of Mr. Alex Wright, approximately one mile north-east of the present Marsden town site. The post office served the surrounding rural area. The Wrights named the post office 'Marsden'. One story recounts the name as originating from the birthplace of Mrs. Wright in
Yorkshire,
England; another reports it was named after the famous
Marsden Rock near
Newcastle, England. The adjacent area became known as the Marsden Rural Post Office District. Between 1919 and 1922, the post office was relocated one mile south to the RM office of Manitou Lake No. 442. In 1905, the vast prairie land was covered with long grass referred to as 'prairie wool'. There were few trees or bluffs. The fertile black soil attracted many first settlers to the area and soon farms developed with sod and log homes. Farmers turned sod with horse and ox teams, sometimes using a walking
plough (sulky) to prepare the ground for grain sowing. Grain was cut with binders, stooked, and threshed. Farmers hauled grain by wagon or
horse-drawn sleigh to
Zumbro and
Artland. In the winter months, grain was hauled across the ice of Manitou Lake. Early settlers purchased groceries and supplies at
Lashburn, Artland, or
Chauvin, Alberta. A popular shopping method of the time was the Eaton's catalogue. The settler's children first attended school in
Learig, and in 1925 a four-room schoolhouse was built in the hamlet of
Marsden. == Geography ==