Historic Sites of Manitoba: International Peace Garden

The International Peace Garden, located on the international border near the towns of Dunseith, North Dakota, and Boissevain, was originally conceived in 1928 by Dr. Henry J. Moore, a horticulturist and teacher from Islington, Ontario. Over 50,000 people attended its dedication ceremony on 14 July 1932 and physical development of the site began two years later.

Over the decades, a number of structures have been built on the Gardens’ 2,339-acre site. They include a Peace Chapel (1970) that straddles the Canada-US border, the Carillon Bell Tower (1976), a 37-metre-tall Peace Tower (1982), a 9-11 Memorial consisting of ten steel girders from the former World Trade Center (2002), and a 17,600 square foot Interpretive Centre (2010).

A stone cairn near the entrance to the Garden was unveiled at the dedication ceremony in 1932. Additional plaques were affixed to it on 25 May 2000 on the occasion of a meeting of the Premiers of western Canada and some Governors of the western United States. Present at the meeting were Edward Schafer (Governor of North Dakota), Dirk Kempthorne (Governor of Idaho), Gary Doer (Premier of Manitoba), Ujjal Dosanjh (Premier of British Columbia), Roy Romanow (Premier of Saskatchewan), Ralph Klein (Premier of Alberta), Stephen Kakiwi (Premier of the North West Territories), Pat Duncan (Premier of Yukon), Paul Okalik (Premier of Nunavut), Gordon D. Giffin (US Ambassador to Canada), and Raymond A. J. Chretien (Canadian Ambassador to the US).

A pair of bronze plaques, mounted at ground level in the gardens, were deployed in the 1960s. One plaque, unveiled by Lieutenant Governor Errick F. Willis on behalf of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly on 17 June 1961, commemorates the centenary of the Dakota Territory from the state of North Dakota was carved. The second plaque, unveiled by Governor William L. Guy on behalf of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly on 23 June 1967, commemorates the centenary of Canada.

Postcard giving an aerial view of the International Peace Garden, with Canada at left and USA at right (circa 1960s) Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2011-0050. International Peace Gardens (2011) Source: Christian Cassidy International Peace Tower (2011) Source: Christian Cassidy Centennial commemoration plaques (June 2019) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Dedication cairn near the entrance to the Garden (June 2019) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.00000, W100.05432 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Boundary Cairn (International Peace Garden)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Errick F. Willis Pavilion (International Peace Garden)

A Border Vision: The International Peace Garden by Charles Thomsen
Manitoba History, Number 31, Spring 1996

International Peace Garden, Canada - USA

Sources:

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Christian Cassidy.

Page revised: 29 June 2019

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