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Take a sneak peak at our current exhibits.
Outdoor Village (Seasonal)
Open seasonally May 1 - September 31
We have 100 acres (40 hectares), with over 30 homes and businesses representing the boom years of the 1920s - and a farmstead. Check out a few of the highlights below.
360° Virtual Tours
Click the images below for virtual tours of the village.
Doctor's Office and Drug Store
Our
newest building, opened in May 2011. We invite you to step back into
the 1920s, to imagine what it was like to finally have a doctor and
druggist set up shop in town.
Read more about our Doctor's Office and
Drug Store -->
Elevator
Towering above the landscape, a beacon
for prairie travellers,
the grain elevator has
come to symbolize the
settlement of the West in
the early years of the 20th
century.
Intent on saving this
quintessential symbol of
prairie farm life, in 1983
the North Battleford
Western Development
Museum masterminded
the transfer of a Saskatchewan Wheat Pool elevator
from the village of Keatley, Saskatchewan.
Find out more about our Grain Elevator -->
Churches of the Village
Faith
was a sustaining element in the lives of many people. The Heritage Village
has four authentic churches: St. Luke's Roman Catholic Church, St. Mary's
Anglican Church, St. Anthony's Roman Catholic Church, and Holy Trinity
Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church.
See our churches and find out which Saskatchewan
communities they came from -->
Blacksmith Shop
The blacksmith sharpened plowshares, replaced horseshoes, repaired wheels
and shaped iron into tools and replacement parts. Metal was heated in a
forge, where bellows forced air through the fire to heat the iron. Tongs
were used to hold each malleable, red hot item on the anvil while the
blacksmith hammered it into the desired shape with his sledge. It was then
plunged into a nearby tank of water to harden it.
If you are interested in learning more about blacksmithing, you are invited
to sign up for the WDM Introduction to Blacksmithing course.
Farm House
The
farm home of the McLaren family of Rockhaven was built in 1914 and donated
to the WDM in 1987. Built in the Ontario Gothic style, it was constructed in
two stages. The upstairs walls are unfinished; the original lathe and plaster
walls are still exposed. The house was not wired for electricity. Items used
by the McLaren family and given with the house include a hooked rug and
blanket chest which was used for storage and as additional work space.
North West Mounted Police Outpost
The
NWMP building was originally built in 1895 in the Jackfish Lake District,
which includes Meota. It was moved to the Village in
1967.
Find out more about the NWMP Outpost -->
Ukranian Home
The house at the North Battleford WDM illustrates a style of
building that was brought to Saskatchewan in the late 1800s by
Ukrainian settlers. They built homes from readily available material
such as logs, clay, willows and grass. Thatched roofs varied from
home to home, often reflecting the traditions of the region from
which the family had emigrated. A well-thatched roof lasted about 30
years, was waterproof and provided excellent insulation.
Learn more about thatching -->
Telephone and Post Office
Until
the Department of Telephone was set up in 1908, telephone service was
provided by privately-owned companies. Under government regulations, the
government provided service to urban communities, including trunk links for
long distance. In rural areas, provision was made for telephone districts
with boards to be elected by the residents of the communities. As late as
1933, there were 1,169 cooperative telephone companies in Saskatchewan.
Read more about the history of Telephones in
Saskatchewan-->
Pussy Willows and Prairie Wool
Transplanted virgin prairie sod and native willow commemorates the
beauty and promise of the Saskatchewan prairie and is dedicated to the
pioneers of the Forest Hall, Highworth, Metropole, Mount Hope, Ranger, and
Whitewood Lake districts.
Museum Entrance
Mounted Police Statue
In 1925 there were over one million horses in Saskatchewan. But forty years later in 1965 when the Western Development Museum needed a horse,
staff looked to Alberta for help.
Find out more about the Mounted Police
Statue -->
