The early history of the village of Virkkula can be dated to the end of the 1770s. At that time, the first resident of the village, Daniel Danielinpoika Kela (1758–1837), settled on the hill of Virkkula. The exact location of the first dwelling, the chimneyless house, is not known. The father of the village was deeply rooted in the landscape, as evidenced by his 10 children, 7 daughters and 3 sons. The connections with the neighbouring villages have always been strong, because with marriages, the family roots between the residents of the villages have strengthened, especially in the direction of Suorajärvi, Säkkilä, Juuma and Rukajärvi. The village history of Virkkula is a piece of the human history of the border region. It includes two harsh evacuation trips and three fallen heroes. Due to its remote location, the village was not burned down during the Continuation War, so the old buildings were saved for posterity.
Two of the old buildings, the family houses of the Virkkula family, still stand on top of the hill, defying time. The year 1842 can be found on the wall of the second house, which may indicate the year it was built.
The village of Virkkula was an isolated village community until the 1950s, before the road brought new life to it. The unity of the village thus grew exceptionally tight. The family roots of the Haataja farms refer to the same ancestral family. The branch of the Heikkinen family from Kuhmo became bound to the Virkkula family through marriage. The Viitala family inhabited the northern end of Lake Porontimajärvi for decades after the war years.
The settlers of Virkkula naturally first lived in temporary housings before the big houses were completed. The current residents of Virkkula think that the first house was a chimneyless house, which was later moved to Niemeläntörmä as a storage house. According to Juhani Virkkula, it is possible that the house inhabited by Jaakko Virkkula’s family next door to the Virkkula house is even older than the house which was apparently completed in 1842.
A hospitable village.
My job was to go from house to house, from village to village: walking on narrow paths, riding a bike or by skiing. I still remember the first home call very well: – There is a path starting from the reindeer pen in Sompsanperä, walk along it so that you come to the lakeshore, the boat will meet you there. I visited Virkkula often, in the winter by skiing from Säkkilä through the Viinimäki and Porontima canyon, in the summer walking on narrow paths, a couple of times from Rukajärvi on horseback. From the very first visit, I fell in love with Virkkula, both because of the landscape and the friendliness and hospitality of the people. In every house I was always asked: When have you eaten? The villagers knew that I valued food after a long struggle.
– Nurse Ebba Ahonen. Source: Koillissanomat 2nd May 2016.