In early 1900 the CPR announced that it would be extending the branch line from Souris, Manitoba to the site now known as Arcola. Immediately, businessmen set out to create a thriving community. Even before the surveyors had laid out the town site, people were here putting down their roots. Established as a village on April 11, 1901, Arcola, at the end of the CPR line, grew quickly. Just over two years later (November 20, 1903) it was granted town status.