This former general store at Holmfield, in the Rural Municipality of Killarney-Turtle Mountain, was opened in 1886 by businessman Frank J. Messner (1862-1935). In addition to selling merchandise to the surrounding community, he also served as the local postmaster from 1901 to 1919. When Messner retired in 1919, he sold the store to English immigrant William Collis (1891-1981) who operated it for the next 57 years. In 1976, Collis sold the store’s contents at auction.
The store has been restored to the way it looked in Messner’s day for use as a museum, which is open by appointment. Those wishing to visit the museum are asked to contact Peggy Giesbrecht at 204-523-8149.
View of the Messner store at right in an early 20th century panoramic view of Holmfield (no date)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2017-0013
Messner Store Museum (May 2013)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Messner Store Museum (August 2019)
Source: Rose Kuzina
Interior of the Messner Store Museum (August 2016)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.13712, W99.48703
denoted by symbol on the map above
1901 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.
Obituary [Frank J. Messner], Winnipeg Tribune, 17 September 1935, page 6.
By the Old Mill Stream: A History of the Village of Holmfield & District by the Holmfield History Book Committee, 1982, pages 22-23.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
We thank Rose Kuzina for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 27 March 2020
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