North Battleford
Saskatoon
Yorkton
Moose Jaw
Heritage Farm and Village
We have 100 acres (40 hectares), with over 30 homes and businesses representing the boom years of the 1920s – and a farmstead.
The Heritage Farm and Village is open for the season.
-
1158 Locomotive
The middle of nowhere took on real meaning for immigrants to Canada's Last Best West in the early 20th century. Most newcomers were delivered to the heart of this vast continent by train. The locomotive and cars on the rails at the WDM North Battleford symbolize the unrivalled importance of...
Read More -
Blacksmith Shop
At the blacksmith shop, blacksmiths 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...
Read More -
Brinkhurst Barn
This barn (WDM-1986-NB-1) was built around 1914 for Sid Brinkhurst’s farm near North Battleford. Sid came to Saskatchewan from England in 1906 at the age of 17. Upon arriving in Saskatchewan, he lied about his age so he could file a claim for a homestead. He moved multiple times within...
Read More -
CNR Railway Station
This railway station (WDM-1973-NB-13906 ) was built in 1913 in Prince as part of the Canadian Northern Railway (CNR) expansion from North Battleford to St. Walburg. In 1928, the station was upgraded to add station agent living quarters to the existing freight and passenger shelter. The station was in use...
Read More -
Doctor’s Office and Drug Store
When Saskatchewan became a province in 1905, health care resources like doctors, nurses, drug stores and hospitals were few and far between. Saskatchewan grew quickly between 1905 and 1925 - from 195,000 to 828,000 people in just 20 years. The number of towns and villages ballooned from 79 in 1905...
Read More -
Grain Bin
The grain bin (WDM-1998-NB-16) was purchased in 1918 by Levi Bousquet from the T. Eaton Company catalogue, for the Bousquet family farm near Wilkie. Levi sold the bin in around 1950, and it changed hands a few times before being donated to the WDM in 1998. The bin is made...
Read More -
Grain Elevator
This grain elevator (WDM-1983-NB-156) was built in just three weeks in 1928 by a team of 18 men, for a construction cost of $14,000. The elevator was originally located northwest of Hafford. A town soon grew around the elevator, and residents voted to name the town Keatley after the man...
Read More -
Grey Schoolhouse
Constructed in 1905 by Barr Colonists near Maymont, the Grey Schoolhouse (WDM-1973-NB-13901) represents a typical one-room schoolhouse on the Canadian prairies. The schoolhouse opened on November 6, 1905, with Annie A. Arkely as the first teacher. 21 were students in attendance. Attendance at the school peaked in 1920 with 32...
Read More -
Hamelin Family House
Constructed between 1913 and 1919, this house (WDM-1973-NB- 13902 ) originally stood at 1202 Victoria Street, North Battleford. The original occupants were Dr. Joseph Jules Hamelin and his wife Marie Louise Stella Danis. They moved to Mortmartre from Quebec in 1908 and settled in North Battleford in 1910. Dr. Hamelin...
Read More -
Harris Family House
This house (WDM-1988-NB-58) was built in 1915 by Richard Barlow Harris for his wife Hattie (née Borden). The couple moved to Saskatchewan from Nova Scotia in 1906 for the sake of Richard’s health. Shortly after arriving in Fielding, Richard opened a successful hardware and general store. In 1915, Richard’s health...
Read More -
Holy Trinity Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church
This church (WDM-1973-NB-13900) was constructed in 1909-1910 by Ukrainian immigrants to the Hafford district. Community members donated time, land and materials to facilitate the construction of the church. The interior was completed around 1917 and expanded, with an extension at the front of the church, the choir loft and a...
Read More -
Jakob Marjan’s Shoe Repair Shop [Brick Building]
This single-story brick building (WDM-1991-NB-11) was built by an unknown builder as a shoe repair shop commissioned in 1932 by Jakob (Jake) Marjan and his wife Leokadia (Lottie) (née Martin). The brick façade, though simple, features ornate Art Deco geometric designs on the cap and the square columns on either...
Read More -
McLaren Family House
Construction on this farmhouse (WDM-1987-NB-25) began in 1914, when Jim McLaren ordered a railcar of lumber to build the kitchen on his homestead near Rockhaven. The rest of the house was completed in 1915 and shortly after Jim married Luella (Ella) Pearl Mawhinney. Ella gave birth to the first of...
Read More -
North-West Mounted Police Outpost
Constructed around 1887, this building (WDM-1973-NB-13905) was used as a stopover house for travelers until the mid-1890s. In 1895, it was converted into barracks for the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP). It was used until 1909 when the detachment was closed, and the land was converted to a farm. In 1917,...
Read More -
Rural Municipality Office
This building (WDM-1973-NB-13907) was originally constructed as a vernacular one-room schoolhouse near Roecliffe, an area originally settled by Barr Colonists. The school opened around 1910 but few details are known about its construction. In the early days of the school, teachers would board with local families. By the mid-1940s, teachers...
Read More -
St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church
The congregation of St Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church was established on June 13, 1918. Construction of the church began in the same year and was completed in 1921. The tower at the front of the church (WDM-1974-NB-1136) is built in the style of some Polish buildings from the 16th and...
Read More -
St Luke’s Roman Catholic Church
Constructed in 1910 by the Oblate Fathers (OMI) in Fielding, St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church (WDM-1973-NB-13904) is an example of a commonly used layout for churches and public buildings such as schools in Saskatchewan at the time. The church was served by a parish priest who, in the 1920s, served...
Read More -
St Mary’s Anglican Church
In the early 20th century, 50 young catechists traveled from England to Prince Albert to study, and then dispersed across the region to establish Anglican churches. This church (WDM-1973-NB-13908), St. Mary’s, was established by one of those students in 1908 with funds from the Anglican Church in England. It was...
Read More -
Telephone Office
“You’re never alone when you have a phone,” claimed an early newspaper advertisement. Isolated on their farms, rural families in Saskatchewan during the 1920s relied on telegraph and telephone, postal and newspaper services to connect them to the world outside their farm gate. The Telephone Exchange and Post Office in...
Read More
