MHS Archives: Manitoba Bricks and Blocks: Blocks

For a few years in the early 20th century, buildings around southern Manitoba were built with locally-cast concrete blocks. Much larger than bricks, these distinctive blocks could measure up to 30 to 32 inches long, 9 to 10 inches tall, and around 3 inches thick. The blocks were hollow, and were typically flat on the interior face but variously patterned on the exterior face.

The blocks were made using locally quarried clay by Frank Thomson at Austin (RM of North Norfolk), David Wright at Emerson, L. C. McIntosh in the RM of Winchester, William J. McKinney in the RM of Morton, Maurice Boughton at Arden (RM of Lansdowne), John Ernest Blackwell at Brandon, and possibly others. The idea was that concrete blocks could be made with limited infrastructural investment because they did not require high-temperature firing like bricks. For reasons unknown, widespread construction use of the blocks ended around 1910.

Concrete block manufacturing on the farm of William J. McKinney (1904)
Source: Mrs. Ina McKinney, Beckoning Hills, page 73.

Men make concrete blocks at the Manitoba Agricultural College (circa 1917)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, University of Manitoba, Fort Garry Site #15.

Blocks were made at Arden by the Arden Cement Block and Building Company, incorporated in early 1904. [1] Parners in the enterprise included hardware merchant and tinsmith John A. Gilhuly, merchant and municipal official Maurice E. Boughton, carpenters George and William Stockdale, and stonemasons Robert Lamb and John Samuel McGorman. They used a Harmon S. Palmer block-making machine to construct several buildings around the Rural Municipality of Lansdowne. These include the municipal office and present-day post office (formerly a pharmacy and doctor’s office) on Lansdowne Avenue in Arden, and private residences in the surrounding countryside.

Examples of Manitoba buildings made with locally-cast concrete blocks:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Arden Concrete House	Lansdowne Avenue, Arden, Municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne	1905
Arden Post Office	Lansdowne Avenue, Arden, Municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne	c1904
Argyle Hotel	Austin, Municipality of North Norfolk	1904	Demolished (?)
Ayr School	Municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne	1908	Demolished (c2016)
Bank of Hamilton Building	449 Norton Avenue, Miami	1902
Bergthaler Church Waisenamt	48 Main Street, Altona	1916
Boniveens Block	185 Spence Street, Winnipeg	1905
Booth Concrete Granary	Municipality of North Norfolk	?
Boulton Manor	322 Memorial Avenue South, Russell, Municipality of Russell-Binscarth	1912
Bulloch House	221 First Street, Reston, RM of Pipestone	1908
Cartmell House	907 St. Claire Street, Birtle, Municipality of Prairie View	1902
Casselman House	Park Street, Emerson, Municipality of Emerson-Franklin	1905
Clifford Barn	Municipality of North Norfolk	1912	Demolished (?)
Crerar Building	129 Souris Street, Melita	1904
Culross School	RM of Yellowhead	1908	Demolished (?)
Emerson Baptist Church	45 Third Street, Emerson, Municipality of Emerson-Franklin	1905
Emerson Presbyterian Church Manse	129 Park Street, Emerson, Municipality of Emerson-Franklin	1905
Ferguson Building	275 Stephen Street, Morden	1910
A. E. Gardiner Building / Seton Centre	116 Main Street, Carberry	?
Garland House	127 Lisgar Street, Carberry	1910
Grove School	Municipality of Deloraine-Winchester	1907	Demolished (?)
Hamilton Hotel / Towers Hotel	203 Main Street South, Dauphin	Before 1911	Destroyed by fire (2014)
Katz House	38 Fifth Avenue NE, Dauphin	1920
Kilkenny General Store	Broomhill, Municipality of Two Borders	1908
Lansdowne Municipal Office	Arden, Municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne	1904
Lowe Farm School	Lowe Farm, RM of Morris	1913	Dismantled (1956)
Matchettville School No. 1342	Municipality of Norfolk-Treherne	1906
McDermott School No. 810	RM of Dufferin	1919	Demolished (?)
McKinney House	Municipality of Boissevain-Morton	1904
Nelson Concrete House	Municipality of North Norfolk	?
Northcote School	RM of Killarney-Turtle Mountain	1906
Otter School	Municipality of Brenda-Waskada	1908	Demolished (?)
Price Concrete Barn	Municipality of North Norfolk	?
Ritzer House	Municipality of North Norfolk	1906
Royal Oak School No. 1354	Municipality of McCreary	1906	Demolished (?)
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church	Mather, Municipality of Cartwright-Roblin	1905	Demolished (1971)
St. Matthews Anglican Church / Guardian Angels Roman Catholic Church	Gilbert Plains, Municipality of Gilbert Plains	1905
St. Peter and St. James Anglican Church	74 Church Street, Flin Flon	1943
Shellmouth School No. 292	Shellmouth, RM of Riding Mountain West	1910	Destroyed by fire (?)
Snell House	Municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne	?
Swan River Concrete House	500 Duncan Crescent, Swan River	circa 1905
Sylvester Hill School No. 1368	RM of Yellowhead	circa 1906	Demolished (?)
Tenby School	Tenby, Municipality of Glenella-Lansdowne	1904
Thiessen House	RM of Morris	1918
Thomson Barn	Municipality of North Norfolk	1908
Union Bank Building	53 Railway Avenue, Waskada, Municipality of Brenda-Waskada	1906
Westaway House	Kerby Avenue, Miami, RM of Thompson	1909

Sources:

We thank Sharon Simms and Jordan Makichuk for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 11 August 2024

Manitoba Bricks and Blocks A history of the manufacture of bricks and concrete blocks in Manitoba, based on research by Randy Rostecki for the Manitoba Historic Resources Branch and supplemented by information compiled by Gordon Goldsborough of the Manitoba Historical Society. . Bricks | Blocks | People | Glossary We thank Hugh Arklie, Gordon McDiarmid, and Heather Bertnick for their help in the development of this online guide. Financial support of the Thomas Sill Foundation is gratefully acknowledged. Additional information was provided by Ina Bramadat, David Butterfield, Neil Christoffersen, Frank Korvemaker, Ed Ledohowski, Ken Storie, Lynette Stow, and Tracey Winthrop-Meyers. © 2010-2020 Randy Rostecki, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch, Gordon Goldsborough, and Manitoba Historical Society. All rights reserved.