Le Gros Arbre (The Big Tree) is a cottonwood located on the shore of lake Manitoba at Sandpiper beach in "Parc Gros Arbre", which was just named after Le Gros Arbre in the summer of 2015, in St. Laurent Manitoba.
It is a little weathered and has lost a couple limbs over the years from the many storms that roll in off the lake, one of the worst being as resent as the big flood that devastated our community on May 31, 2011.
Le Gros Arbre got its name from the Aboriginal and Metis people of the area, who always refer to it as "Le Gros Arbre". It was a know meeting place for the aboriginal, Metis people and still is for the younger generation. All you have to do is reference Le Gros Arbre or The Big Tree and everybody knows we're to go. The local commercial Metis fishers also use Le Gros Arbre as a beacon to guide them off the lake from time to time, as Le Gros Arbre can be seen from a distance off shore.
Le Gros Arbre has had many gatherings by it, people love having picnics under its large canopy in the summer. Wedding ceremonies and engagements have been held on the beach in front of it. Whole wedding parties have climbed up on to it for wedding pictures. Lots of family gatherings and family pictures. To people just sitting on it or under it enjoying one of the many beautiful sun sets of the area (Jones, J. 2015)

Le Gros Arbre (The Big Tree) is a cottonwood located on the shore of lake Manitoba at Sandpiper beach in "Parc Gros Arbre", which was just named after Le Gros Arbre in the summer of 2015, in St. Laurent Manitoba.
It is a little weathered and has lost a couple limbs over the years from the many storms that roll in off the lake, one of the worst being as resent as the big flood that devastated our community on May 31, 2011.
Le Gros Arbre got its name from the Aboriginal and Metis people of the area, who always refer to it as "Le Gros Arbre". It was a know meeting place for the aboriginal, Metis people and still is for the younger generation. All you have to do is reference Le Gros Arbre or The Big Tree and everybody knows we're to go. The local commercial Metis fishers also use Le Gros Arbre as a beacon to guide them off the lake from time to time, as Le Gros Arbre can be seen from a distance off shore.
Le Gros Arbre has had many gatherings by it, people love having picnics under its large canopy in the summer. Wedding ceremonies and engagements have been held on the beach in front of it. Whole wedding parties have climbed up on to it for wedding pictures. Lots of family gatherings and family pictures. To people just sitting on it or under it enjoying one of the many beautiful sun sets of the area (Jones, J. 2015)