In November 1928, pioneer Francis Coulter donated to the Arthur Pioneers Association this site south of Melita where he had settled, in April 1882. It became known as Coulter Park, or Sourisford Park, after the nearby crossing on the Souris River. It was Western Canada’s oldest park, designated as municipally significant in 1990. Years earlier, in 1873, the site had been a camping place of the Boundary Commission demarking the border between Canada and the United States. Local settlers held a picnic here in 1882 that became an annual event. A stone house nearby was built in 1887 from local field stone.
In July 1929, a memorial arch at the park was dedicated at the annual picnic. Three years later, a log cabin, built by H. Fraser on 4-2-27 west of the Principal Meridian in 1885, was donated to the Association in 1932 by Wilfred Reid Cosgrove as a memento of pioneer days. Near the cabin and arch is a monument erected by the Rural Municipality of Arthur commemorating the Canadian centennial year in 1967.
The cabin sustained flood damage around 2019. Plans call for it to be dismantled and authentically rebuilt, using wood sourced from the park, at the same site. It is anticipated that reconstruction will be completed in 2022.
Fraser Cabin (July 2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Arthur Centennial Monument (July 2010)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Memorial arch (August 2013)
Source: Rose KuzinaSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.13575, W101.00811
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Wilfred Reid Cosgrove (1882-1974)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
Sourisford Park, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.
“Fine memorial arch dedicated at Melita,” Manitoba Free Press, 2 July 1929, page 15.
We thank Kerrin Asmundson, Grace Carr (Municipality of Two Borders), and Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 11 September 2022
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