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

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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

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