Historical background
The name Shurgovash derives from the Mari words "shirgi" — forest — and "vash" — against. The history of the village carries several legends. One of them concerns a young carpenter named Sharov, who found a boot filled with gold in the attic of an old house. It is said that he later bought land three kilometers from the village, built a house, and ran a large farm. Men from the village would come to him to mow hay and do other work.
The land near the village belonged to a landowner named Levashov. His house still stands beyond the cemetery and now houses the local forestry office. Only the second floor was dismantled — and it was said to have been very fine.
The estate is surrounded by an avenue of birches and lindens. We were told that prosperous people lived here, who kept mills along the Lyunda River; the mills were known by the names of their owners: Konovalikha, Medvedikha, Ryabinnikha, Brusovka.
Blacksmiths also lived in Shurgovash — Zomorozhkin, Shestakov, Zhilkin — forging horseshoes and nails, everything needed for the farm. And chains, too, which were taken to the city for ships.
In the 1930s, collective farms began to be formed. Many people were dispossessed at that time — everything was taken away, and the owners were driven out, forced to wander from house to house; some were exiled altogether. Then came the war — many men left and never returned. After the war, life gradually improved. There was a large school, a club, an apiary, and a horse yard.
Yuliya Badyreva, 19.09.2008, 00:12