The buildings at this site in the Municipality of Glenboro-South Cypress formed the homestead of English immigrant Percy Criddle and his wife and children, along with Mrs. Elise Vane and her children. They arrived in western Manitoba in 1882. Also known as Aweme (the basis for which is unclear although some stories maintain it is a truncation of “Awe Me”), the Criddles and Vanes tried to recreate a genteel English landscape in the Carberry sand hills, building a tennis court and golf course, among other amenities. Percy and his children were active naturalists, and his sons Norman Criddle and Stuart Criddle were acclaimed for their work in entomology, horticulture, and other pursuits.
In 1960, remaining members of the family sold the 6,000-acre property to a group of Winnipeg and eastern Canadian investors and moved to British Columbia.
In 2004, the former homestead was designated as a provincial park. On 25 June 2014, the main residence building was completely destroyed in a suspected arson fire. Also on the site is a small frame building that housed the first entomological laboratory in western Canada, where Norman Criddle amassed his extensive collection of butterflies, beetles, and other insects.
The former Criddle-Vane Homestead building (July 2003)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The former Criddle-Vane Homestead building (July 2003)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The former Criddle-Vane Homestead building (July 2003)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
The former Criddle-Vane Homestead building (2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Interior of the former Criddle-Vane Homestead building (November 2009)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Outbuildings at the Criddle-Vane Homestead (October 2009)
Source: Rose Kuzina
The first laboratory at the Criddle-Vane Homestead (July 2019)
Source: Rose KuzinaSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.70875, W99.60202
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
The Criddle Family by Lillian Gibbons
Manitoba Pageant, Volume 6, Number 2, January 1961.Norman Criddle: Pioneer Entomologist of the Prairies by Neil J. Holliday
Manitoba History, Number 51, February 2006Memorable Manitobans: Norman Criddle (1875-1933)
Memorable Manitobans: Percy Criddle (1844-1918)
Memorable Manitobans: Stuart Criddle (1877-1971)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Criddle-Vane Family Cemetery (Aweme, Municipality of Glenboro-South Cypress)
Criddle-de-Diddle-Ensis: A Biographical History of the Criddles of Aweme, Manitoba Pioneers of the 1880s by Alma Criddle (1973).
Criddle / Vane Homestead Provincial Heritage Park
For Elise: Unveiling the Forgotten Women on the Criddle Homestead by Oriole A. Vane Veldhuis, Winnipeg: self published, 495 pages, 2013.
“Criddle family leaving pioneer home in Wawanesa area,” Winnipeg Free Press, 17 October 1960.
We thank Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 10 July 2022
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