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Historic Sites of Manitoba: Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba / Manitoba Heritage Council

Link to:
Chairs | Secretaries | Board Members | Plaques | See Also | Sources

The designation of historic sites in Manitoba during the early 20th century was done by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada. This Board continues today to identify sites, events, and persons of national significance in our province.

Provincial government participation in the recognition of important sites dates to 1946, when the Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba was established. This group of historians, architects, archaeologists and other citizens made recommendations to the provincial government to identify, protect, preserve, commemorate and interpret historically and architecturally significant sites, buildings, people and events in Manitoba. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Board sought to strengthen national sentiment by commemorating individuals and places of historic significance.

In the 1950s, the Board encouraged the establishment of commemorative plaques at scenic or strategic “wayside parks” in an attempt to popularize Manitoba history. Many of the plaques dealt with Manitoba’s early fur trade trails and trading posts. Centennial celebrations in 1967 and Manitoba’s centenary in 1970 saw increased activity, with an emphasis on commemorating political and historical themes, such as the boundaries of the “Postage Stamp Province” and the origin of the name “Manitoba”.

In the 1980s there was a trend to expand commemorative themes to represent those which have long been ignored as contributors to society: women, labour, ethnic and aboriginal heritage were highlighted. In 1986, with the new Heritage Resources Act, the name of the Board was changed to the Manitoba Heritage Council.

The earliest commemorative markers were wooden. Metal plaques were first erected in the late 1950s. Made of cast aluminum and mounted on a post, the familiar six-sided markers carry the Manitoba crocus symbol at the bottom. They are usually unilingual. If a French version was deemed appropriate, a second plaque and mount accompanied the English version. Beginning in 1987, commemorative plaques were made of etched brass and mounted on a wall or a white concrete podium. These plaques were either bilingual or trilingual and usually carried an illustration. Most recent provincial plaques have been made of cast metal.

In recent years, the identification and commemoration of historic sites in Manitoba is being done primarily by the municipal governments of Manitoba. In 2010, the Manitoba Historical Society initiated its Historic Sites of Manitoba project to identify and promote a great diversity of historic sites around the province, encompassing but broadening the list beyond those designated officially at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels.

Chairs

Period

Chair

1946-1952

William Creighton Graham (1887-1955)

1952-1963

George McLeod Brownell (1899-1979)

1963-1969

Board inactive

1969

Jack D. Hiebert (Director, Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature)

1970

?

1971

John Alexander Bovey (1934-2005) - Acting Chair

1971-1979

James Edgar Rea (1931-2003)

1980-1982

A. Ross McCormack

1982-1984

Dr. John Kendle

1984-1987

Jean Friesen

1987-1989

John Campbell Lehr

1989-2001

William Franklin Wymark Neville

2002-2007

Dr. James Allum

2007-2016

Sharon Reilly

Secretaries

Period

Secretary

1973-1984

John Douglas McFarland (?-2022)

Board Members (partial list)

Board Member

Period

Sydney Allen

1982-1989

Dr. James Allum

2000-2002

Osmond Theodore “O. T.” Anderson (?-2002)

?-1989

Wayne Arseny

2000-2013

Gerald Backeland

1971-1974

Jock Bates

?-?

Anne Charlotte Bawden (c1939-2017)

?-1989

Mary Elizabeth Bayer (1925-2005)

1971-1974

Sandy Beardy

1989-?

Woodrow Bennett (?-1990)

1982-?

Marius Benoist (1896-1985)

1973-?

Henry Edward “Harry” Beresford (1890-1985)

c1952

Charles “Charlie” Biesick (1903-1983)

1982-1983

Andy Blicq

2011-2017

John Alexander Bovey (1934-2005)

c1973-?

Peter Bower

1982-?

Hartwell Walter Lewis Bowsfield (1922-2008)

c1952

Helene Brignon

?-1989

George McLeod Brownell (1899-1979)

1946-1952

Jau-Nan Cheng

?-1989

Dorothy Choy

1989-?

Ruth Christie

1989-?

Margaret Clark

1973-?

Robert Coutts

?-2013

Stuart Criddle (1877-1971)

1946-?

Colleen Cutschall

1989-?

Sandra Delaronde

1982-?

Bernie Duffy

?-1989

Gordon Charles Emberley

2000-2013

Derm English

?-2016

Antoine d’Éschambault (1896-1960)

1946-1960

John Cater Everitt

2000-2005

William Fox

1992-1994

Jean Friesen

1982-?

Cheryl Gilarski

?-?

Sheila Grover

2000-?

Diane Haglund

2011-2013

Larry Hamilton

2000-?

John “Jack” Hassard (1912-1979)

1971-1974

Stephen Hayter

2011-2017

H. David Hemphill (1933-2009)

1971-1976

Walter Maxwell Hlady (1924-1986)

1971-1976

Eveline Holtmann

1989-?

James A. Jackson (c1918-1976)

1973-?

Vincent Joseph Jensen (1916-1988)

1971-1976

Thorkell Wallace “Wally” Johannson

2000-2015

John Leslie Johnston (1898-1955)

c1952

Sharain Jones

?-2015

Alf Kennedy

1989-?

George Lalor

1989-?

Emma LaRocque

?-1989

Ellen Lee

?-?

Paul Legault

2000-?

John Campbell Lehr

1983-1991

Gilles Lesage

1989-1995

Brunelle Leveille (1908-1972)

1961-?

Claudine Majzels

2000-?

Helen Frances Marsh (1917-1995)

1989-?

A. Ross McCormack

1982-?

Dr. David G. McCrady

2014-2017

Frederick George “Fred” McGuinness (1921-2011)

1982-?

Lorraine McKay

?-1989

Dr. Chris Miekeljohn

1982-?

Annette Milot

2000-?

Rosslyn Brough “Ross” Mitchell (1880-1972)

c1952

Tom Monteyne

2011-2013

Margaret Morton

1982-?

William Lewis Morton (1908-1980)

c1952

Leonard Towne Sterndale Norris-Elye (1884-1958)

1946-?

Ken Osborne

?-1989

Edith Paterson (1905-1995)

1971-1974

Diane Payment

2000-2013

George Penner

?-?

Virginia Petch (1946-2018)

2000-?

Dr. Katherine Pettipas

2000-?

Leo Pettipas

1973-?

Marvin Prochyshyn

1982-1989

Steve Prystupa (1939-2021)

1982-1989

James Edgar Rea (1931-2003)

1979-?

Sharon Reilly

2000-2007

Mary Richard

?-?

Marie Paule Robitaille

1982-?

Gary Russell

1982-?

Edgar Stanford “Ed” Russenholt (1890-1991)

1970s

Penny Shaw

?-2015

C. Thomas Shay

1982-?

E. Leigh Sims

?-?

Sam Sims

1989-?

Michelle Smith

?-2016

Ian M. Sutherland

1979-?

Stewart Thomson

1982-1989

John Ephram Tisdale (1875-1967)

1946-?

Roseline Wolodarsky “Roz” Usiskin

1982-1989

Marcella Vezina

2014-2017

Muriel Wells

1989-?

Jim Weselake

1989-?

Dr. Lynn Whidden

2014-2016

Sharon Whitaker

?-?

Clifford Parnell Wilson (1902-1977)

1946-?

Plaques

Plaque

Municipality

Location

4-H Clubs of Canada

Roland

Roland

Abbey of Our Lady of the Prairies

Winnipeg

St. Norbert

Ancient Traders in Southern Manitoba

Melita

41 Ash Street

The Anson Northup

Winnipeg

Kildonan Park

Asessippi Townsite

Shellmouth-Boulton

 

Assiniboin (Nakota) First Nation

 

Spruce Woods Provincial Park

The Assiniboine River

St. François Xavier

 

Bank of Nova Scotia

Winnipeg

254 Portage Avenue

La Barrière

Winnipeg

St. Norbert Provincial Heritage Park

Beautiful Plains County Court Building

Neepawa

282 Hamilton Avenue

Beginning of the Jewish Community in Manitoba

Winnipeg

Tuxedo Avenue

Georges-Antoine Belcourt

RM of St. Francois Xavier

 

Bender Hamlet

Armstrong

 

Boulder Mosaics / Bannock Point Petroforms

Whiteshell Provincial Park

 

Boundary Commission Trail

Emerson

 

Boundary Commission Trail - Turtlehead Crossing

Winchester

 

Brandon College

Brandon

270 Eighteenth Street

Brandon Courthouse and Gaol

Brandon

525 Victoria Avenue East

Brandon Normal School

Brandon

1129 Queens Street

Brant Consolidated School

Rockwood

Argyle

Pascal Breland

St. François Xavier

St. François Xavier

Reverend Henry Budd

The Pas

 

T. A. Burrows Lumber Mill Site

Grandview

Grandview

Sir Thomas Button

Churchill

 

Camp Hughes

North Cypress-Langford

 

Central Normal School

Winnipeg

442 William Avenue

La Chapelle de Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours

Winnipeg

Avenue du Couvent, St. Norbert

Commonwealth Air Training Plan Hangar

Brandon

 

Countess of Dufferin

Winnipeg

Winnipeg Railway Museum, 123 Main Street

Courier Publishing Company Building

Crystal City

218 Broadway Street South

Major Charles A. Boulton

Russell

Main Street

Norman Criddle

 

Spruce Woods Provincial Park

Cuthbert Grant

St. François Xavier

St. François Xavier

Dalnavert

Winnipeg

61 Carlton Street

Thomas Mayne Daly

Brandon

122 Eighteenth Street

Darlingford Memorial Park

Pembina

Darlingford

Dauphin Canadian Northern Railway Station

Dauphin

 

Dauphin Town Hall

Dauphin

 

Robert A. Davis

Winnipeg

Main Street

Dawson Road

Falcon Lake

Whiteshell Provincial Park

Display Building Number II

Brandon

Fairgrounds

Dorset Culture in Manitoba

Churchill

 

Pre-Dorset Culture in Manitoba

Churchill

 

Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk

Winnipeg

Portage Avenue

Edward Lancaster Drewry

Winnipeg

Drewry Lane

Sir Joseph Dubuc

Winnipeg

rue Notre Dame

East and West Mossy Portages

Northern Manitoba

 

East and West Mossy Portages

The Pas

Fischer Avenue

Emerson Court House and Gaol

Emerson

104 Church Street

A. C. Emmett and the Development of Manitoba’s Highways

Wallace-Woodworth

Kirkella

Extinct Bison of Manitoba

Binscarth

 

Pierre Falcon

St. François Xavier

St. François Xavier

Peter Fidler

Dauphin

140 Jackson Street

First Farmers in the Red River Valley

St. Clements

 

Flee Island Dakota Entrenchment

Portage la Prairie

 

Fort des Pinettes - Pine Fort

 

Spruce Woods Provincial Park

Fort Ellice Trail

St. François Xavier

 

Fort Ellice Trail

Neepawa

Lions River Bend Park

Fossil Elephants of Manitoba

Springfield

Birds Hill Provincial Park

Garry Telephone Exchange

Winnipeg

474 Hargrave Street

Great-West Life Building

Winnipeg

177 Lombard Avenue

Frederick Phillip Grove

Rapid City

 

Marc-Amable Girard

Winnipeg

Memorial Park

Glacial Lake Agassiz

Lansdowne

Arden

Glacial Lake Agassiz

Mountain

Birch River Wayside Park

Glenboro Canadian Pacific Railway Water Tower

Glenboro

 

Government House

Winnipeg

10 Kennedy Street

Grand Rapids Tramway

Northern Manitoba

 

Thomas Greenway

Louise

Crystal City

Griswold United Church

Sifton

Griswold

Grund Frelsis (Liberty) Lutheran Church

Argyle

 

Abraham Albert Heaps

Winnipeg

254 Portage Avenue

E. Cora Hind

Winnipeg

1355 Mountain Avenue

Holy Ghost Polish Catholic Church

Winnipeg

341 Selkirk Avenue

Hudson Bay Railway

Churchill

 

Icelandic Settlement - Gimli

Gimli

 

Icelandic Settlement - Riverton

Riverton

 

Independent Order of Odd Fellows Temple

Neepawa

376 Mountain Avenue

Inglis Grain Elevators

Shellmouth-Boulton

Inglis

Isbister School

Winnipeg

310 Vaughan Street

Sigtryggur Jonasson

Gimli

 

Rabbi Israel Isaac Kahanovitch

Winnipeg

Tuxedo Avenue

Captain William Kennedy

St. Andrews

417 River Road

Kildonan Presbyterian Church

Winnipeg

201 John Black Avenue

Kildonan School

Winnipeg

2373 Main Street

Knox Presbyterian Church

Neepawa

396 First Street

Knox United Church

Winnipeg

400 Edmonton Street

La Rivière Canadian Pacific Railway Station

Pembina

 

La Vérendrye

Winnipeg

Legislative Building

Thomas Henry Peacock Lamb

Moose Lake

 

Margaret Laurence

Neepawa

 

The Legend of the White Horse Plain

St. François Xavier

 

Legislative Building

Winnipeg

 

Ambroise-Didyme Lépine

Winnipeg

Upper Fort Garry Provincial Park

Lillian Beynon Thomas

Winnipeg

960 Wolseley Avenue

Lord Selkirk

Scotland

 

The Lynch Party

Portage la Prairie

 

The Mandy Mine

Flin Flon

 

Manitoba Agricultural College

Winnipeg

Tuxedo Avenue

Manitoba’s First Explorers

Boissevain

 

The Manitoba Glass Factory

Beausejour

 

Origin of the Name Manitoba

Siglunes

 

Manitoba Women’s Institute

Morris

 

Nellie McClung

Manitou

Carrie Street

James McKay

Winnipeg

2109 Portage Avenue

A. E. McKenzie Company Building

Brandon

30 Ninth Street

Duncan McRae

Lockport

 

Mennonite East Reserve

Steinbach

 

Mennonite West Reserve

Rhineland

Rosenfeld

Merchants Bank Building

Brandon

1043 Rosser Avenue

Middle Track

The Pas

 

Minnedosa Public Building

Minnedosa

103 Main Street South

William Lewis Morton

Gladstone

 

Jens Munk Expedition

Churchill

 

Wasyl Negrych Homestead

Gilbert Plains

 

The Nor’ Wester

Winnipeg

269 Main Street

Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railway Repair Shop

Winnipeg

 

Norway House

Northern Manitoba

Norway House

Nurses’ Residence, Brandon Mental Health Centre

Brandon

First Street

“Old Copper” in Manitoba

Whiteshell Provincial Park

 

The Pas Community Building and Court House

The Pas

306 Fischer Avenue

The Passage

Winnipeg

Southboine Drive

Paterson / Matheson House

Brandon

1039 Louise Avenue

Paulencu House

Shellmouth-Boulton

Lennard

Chief Peguis

St. Clements

 

Pembina - Emerson Area

Emerson

 

Pilot Mound

Pilot Mound

 

Pinawa Power Site

Pinawa

 

Postage Stamp Province

Gladstone

 

Postage Stamp Province

Grand Marais

 

Postage Stamp Province

 

Mariapolis

Postage Stamp Province

 

Oak Point

Postage Stamp Province

Piney

 

Postage Stamp Province

Winnipeg Beach

 

Thomas George Prince

St. Clements

Scanterbury

Ralph Connor House

Winnipeg

54 West Gate

Red Deer Lumber Company

Northern Manitoba

 

Red River Floodway

 

Duff Roblin Provincial Park

Red River Settlement

Winnipeg

La Verendrye Park

Louis Riel

Winnipeg

Legislative Building Grounds

Rossville Mission

Northern Manitoba

Norway House

Gabrielle Roy

Winnipeg

375 Deschambault Street

Joseph Royal

Winnipeg

Tache Avenue

St. Andrew’s Anglican Church

St. Andrews

 

St. Anne’s Church

Portage la Prairie

 

St. Boniface

Winnipeg

219 Provencher Boulevard

St. Elias Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Bell Tower

Stuartburn

Sirko

St. Elijah Romanian Orthodox Church

Shellmouth-Boulton

 

St. James Anglican Church

Winnipeg

525 Tylehurst Street

St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church

Park

 

St. John’s Cathedral

Winnipeg

135 Anderson Avenue

St. Laurent Mission

St. Laurent

St. Laurent

St. Michael’s Ukrainian Catholic Church

Dauphin

Trembowla

St. Michael’s Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church

Stuartburn

 

St. Norbert

Winnipeg

St. Norbert Provincial Heritage Park

St. Paul’s Anglican Middlechurch

West St. Paul

 

St. Paul’s United Church

Boissevain

590 Johnson Street

St. Peter’s Dynevor Anglican Church

St. Clements

 

Ernest Thompson Seton

North Cypress

 

Seven Oaks House

Winnipeg

115 Rupertsland Boulevard

Silver Heights

Winnipeg

 

Frank Leith Skinner

Shellmouth-Boulton

 

Dr. David Alexander Stewart

Strathcona

Ninette

Stockton Ferry

South Cypress

 

Stonewall Post Office

Stonewall

 

The Stonewall Quarries

Stonewall

 

Stopping the Survey

Winnipeg

 

The Stott Site

Whitehead

 

Swan River Valley Plaque

Swan River

 

Tamarisk United Church

Grandview

 

H. P. Tergesen General Store

Gimli

82 First Avenue

Thompson Nickel Discovery

Thompson

Heritage North Museum

Town of Morris

Morris

 

Trembowla Cross of Freedom

Dauphin

 

Turtle Mountain Coal Mines

Brenda

 

Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception

Springfield

Cooks Creek

Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Resurrection

Dauphin

 

Ukrainian Labour Temple

Winnipeg

591 Pritchard Avenue

Villa Louise

Brandon

707 Louise Avenue

Virden Municipal Building and Auditorium

Virden

228 Wellington Street West

Walker Theatre

Winnipeg

364 Smith Street

Westminster United Church

Winnipeg

745 Westminster Avenue

Wigwam Restaurant and Park Theatre

Riding Mountain National Park

 

Wild Ricing in Manitoba

Whiteshell Provincial Park

 

The Winnipeg Aqueduct

Winnipeg

 

Winnipeg Beach Canadian Pacific Railway Resort Water Tower

Winnipeg Beach

 

Winnipeg’s First Children’s Hospital

Winnipeg

Not found

Major-General James Wolfe

Winnipeg

 

The Wolseley Expedition

Winnipeg

Bonnycastle Park

James Shaver Woodsworth

Winnipeg

60 Maryland Street

Dr. Amelia Yeomans

Winnipeg

Broadway

See also:

MHS Resources: Pamphlets and Reports of the Manitoba Historic Resources Branch

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Provincially Designated Historic Sites

Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques (Manitoba Historic Resources Branch)

Historic Sites of Manitoba (Manitoba Historical Society)

Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada

Canada’s Historic Places

Provincial Heritage Sites (Manitoba Historic Resources Branch)

Municipal Heritage Sites (Manitoba Historic Resources Branch)

Sources:

“Dr. W. Graham made board chairman,” Winnipeg Free Press, 18 July 1946, page 24.

“Legislation guards our historic sites,” Winnipeg Free Press, 7 November 1952, page 7.

“Tour-packed day here for Minnesota group,” Winnipeg Free Press, 10 August 1959, page 8.

“Publisher named to Historic Sites Advisory Board,” Winnipeg Free Press, 19 September 1961, page 3.

“8 named to Sites Board here,” Winnipeg Free Press, 28 September 1971, page 50.

“Historic Site posts filled,” Winnipeg Free Press, 1 June 1973, page 5.

“Sutherland named to Sites Board,” Hamiota Echo, 22 February 1979, page 7.

“Dauphin teacher on historic sites board,” Dauphin Herald, 26 October 1982, page 30.

15 appointed to Heritage Council,” Manitoba Government News Release, 11 December 1989.

Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques: 1946-1994, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Citizenship.

New appointments announced for Manitoba Heritage Council,” Manitoba News Release, 31 May 2000.

Manitoba Order in Council 00222/2011, 23 June 2011.

Manitoba Order in Council 00369/2014, 3 September 2014.

We thank Norm Larsen, David Butterfield, Henry Trachtenberg, and Alan Mason for providing information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 17 March 2023

Historic Sites of Manitoba

This is a collection of historic sites in Manitoba compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. The information is offered for historical interest only.

Browse lists of:
Museums/Archives | Buildings | Monuments | Cemeteries | Locations | Other

Inclusion in this collection does not confer special status or protection. Official heritage designation may only come from municipal, provincial, or federal governments. Some sites are on private property and permission to visit must be secured from the owner.

Site information is provided by the Manitoba Historical Society as a free public service only for non-commercial purposes.


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