Steinbach was incorporated as a town on 31 December 1946, with the Main Street being paved the following year.
The new town elected Klaas Barkman as mayor who, along with councillor and auto-dealer A.D. Penner, had been instrumental in Steinbach's incorporation.
As the regional service centre for the area, Steinbach developed manufacturing, trucking, and retailing, particularly in automobile sales.
Steinbach became known regionally as the "Automobile City," a named coined by A.D. Penner.

From the 1940s to the 1960s, T.G. Smith, was a local bank manager who organized many of Steinbach's first recreational activities, which the Mennonite population had been reluctant to adopt on their own.

In 1958, Leonard Barkman was elected mayor and served until 1970.
Barkman also served as M.L.A. while also mayor of Steinbach, a practice that is no longer allowed in Manitoba.
Barkman was the first Mennonite from the area, who had previously eschewed this level of political involvement, to join the Manitoba Legislature.

During the 1950s and 60s, Steinbach was home to many Christian revival meetings, including frequent visits by George Brunk, Ben D. Reimer and others.
These meetings were held in a quonset just off of Main Street called The Tabernacle.
The new more evangelical theology transformed the doctrine and practices of many of the local Mennonite churches and contributed to their assimilation.
Many local churches adopted evangelical theology or merged it with their traditional Anabaptist theology, and some dropped the Mennonite label altogether.
According to literary critic Magdalene Redekop, these revival meetings also led to the secular Mennonite literary boom of the 1980s.

In 1960 the Kleine Gemeinde church building, which by then was called the Evangelical Mennonite Conference, burned to the ground.
The same year, the last traditional Mennonite housebarn in Steinbach was torn down by car dealer (and later mayor) A.D. Penner.
Partially in response to the destruction of heritage buildings in the area, such as the historic housebarn destroyed by A.D. Penner, residents in the 1960s saw the need to preserve and remember the Mennonite history of the region.
In 1967 the Mennonite Heritage Village museum in Steinbach was opened.

In 1966, infamous gold thief Ken Leishman escaped from Headingly Jail and stole an airplane from Steinbach, solidifying his nickname as the "Flying Bandit".

In 1970, the year of Manitoba's centennial, Steinbach was visited by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles.
A crowd of 10,000 waited along the streets of Steinbach as the royals visited, coming from the east along Highway 52 after their visit to La Brouqerie.
The Carillon described the visit saying, "it was the most memorable and exciting moment in the history of the Southeast.
For the first time since the earliest European settlers arrived in the 1860s and 1870s, a member of the British royal family paid a personal visit to the communities of La Broquerie, Steinbach, Sarto, Grunthal and St. Pierre.
For these communities and their people the visit by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles on the eve of Manitoba's 100th birthday highlighted a century of economic and cultural development."

In 1972, Jake Epp, a former local high school teacher, was elected Member of Parliament in the region, the first Mennonite in the area to do so.
Epp was also the first Mennonite to serve as a federal cabinet minister and was MP until 1993.

Steinbach's growth slowed somewhat during the 1980s and early 90s in comparison to the rate of growth in decades before or since.
Steinbach was incorporated as a town on 31 December 1946, with the Main Street being paved the following year. The new town elected Klaas Barkman as mayor who, along with councillor and auto-dealer A.D. Penner, had been instrumental in Steinbach's incorporation. As the regional service centre for the area, Steinbach developed manufacturing, trucking, and retailing, particularly in automobile sales. Steinbach became known regionally as the "Automobile City," a named coined by A.D. Penner.
From the 1940s to the 1960s, T.G. Smith, was a local bank manager who organized many of Steinbach's first recreational activities, which the Mennonite population had been reluctant to adopt on their own.
In 1958, Leonard Barkman was elected mayor and served until 1970. Barkman also served as M.L.A. while also mayor of Steinbach, a practice that is no longer allowed in Manitoba. Barkman was the first Mennonite from the area, who had previously eschewed this level of political involvement, to join the Manitoba Legislature.
During the 1950s and 60s, Steinbach was home to many Christian revival meetings, including frequent visits by George Brunk, Ben D. Reimer and others. These meetings were held in a quonset just off of Main Street called The Tabernacle. The new more evangelical theology transformed the doctrine and practices of many of the local Mennonite churches and contributed to their assimilation. Many local churches adopted evangelical theology or merged it with their traditional Anabaptist theology, and some dropped the Mennonite label altogether. According to literary critic Magdalene Redekop, these revival meetings also led to the secular Mennonite literary boom of the 1980s.
In 1960 the Kleine Gemeinde church building, which by then was called the Evangelical Mennonite Conference, burned to the ground. The same year, the last traditional Mennonite housebarn in Steinbach was torn down by car dealer (and later mayor) A.D. Penner. Partially in response to the destruction of heritage buildings in the area, such as the historic housebarn destroyed by A.D. Penner, residents in the 1960s saw the need to preserve and remember the Mennonite history of the region. In 1967 the Mennonite Heritage Village museum in Steinbach was opened.
In 1966, infamous gold thief Ken Leishman escaped from Headingly Jail and stole an airplane from Steinbach, solidifying his nickname as the "Flying Bandit".
In 1970, the year of Manitoba's centennial, Steinbach was visited by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles. A crowd of 10,000 waited along the streets of Steinbach as the royals visited, coming from the east along Highway 52 after their visit to La Brouqerie. The Carillon described the visit saying, "it was the most memorable and exciting moment in the history of the Southeast. For the first time since the earliest European settlers arrived in the 1860s and 1870s, a member of the British royal family paid a personal visit to the communities of La Broquerie, Steinbach, Sarto, Grunthal and St. Pierre. For these communities and their people the visit by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles on the eve of Manitoba's 100th birthday highlighted a century of economic and cultural development."
In 1972, Jake Epp, a former local high school teacher, was elected Member of Parliament in the region, the first Mennonite in the area to do so. Epp was also the first Mennonite to serve as a federal cabinet minister and was MP until 1993.
Steinbach's growth slowed somewhat during the 1980s and early 90s in comparison to the rate of growth in decades before or since.
Steinbach, Manitoba