In 1922, this road into the Fort Garry campus of the University of Manitoba was completed and dedicated as a living memorial to the men from the Manitoba Agricultural College (which preceded the University on the site) who were killed during service in the First World War. The first of the elm trees bordering the road had been planted during the war years by students in the Home Economics program. A monument was unveiled at a ceremony on 11 November 1923.
In 6 June 1998, on the 76th anniversary of the original memorial, the 1922 dedication was extended to include former Agricultural Diploma and Degree students, with members of the academic and support staff of the Faculty of Agricultural and Home Economics who were killed during the Second World War and the Korean War.
A second commemorative plaque at the eastern end of the Avenue of Elms is at N49.80943, W97.13352.
Located between the UMSU University Centre and the Administration Building, at N49.80923, W97.13332, is a plaque at ground-level in memoriam of Wilfrid John Rae BSA MSc (1899-1979), who is said to have first thought of the idea of the Avenue of Elms. The plaque reads, “whose cremated remains are buried under the elm tree he planted in 1928 opposite of the south west corner of the Administration Building site.”
Avenue of Elms (no date)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2021-0105
Avenue of Elms Memorial (2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Avenue of Elms Memorial plaque (August 2023)
Source: George Penner
Avenue of Elms Memorial plaque (August 2023)
Source: George Penner
Commemorative plaque for Wilfrid John Rae (November 2024)
Source: Milan LukesSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.80180, W97.15543
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Agricultural College War Memorial (Fort Garry Campus, University of Manitoba)
“Avenue of Elms, preserving this legacy,” UM News, 10 June 2014.
We thank George Penner and Milan Lukes for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 9 September 2024
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