Link to:
Presidents | Collections | Photos & Coordinates | Sources
Located on a 50-acre site three kilometers south of the junction of #1 and #34 highways, near Austin in the Municipality of North Norfolk, the Manitoba Agricultural Museum features Canada’s largest collection of operating vintage farm machinery. Situated on a parcel of land donated in 1954 by local farmer Thomas James Carrothers, the museum has grown to become a major tourist attraction in western Manitoba and is designated by the provincial government as one of its Signature Museums.
The museum is the site of the Manitoba Amateur Radio Museum and the annual Manitoba Threshermen’s Reunion and Stampede.
Presidents
Period |
President |
1952-1955 |
Harold Lloyd Henderson (1907-1993) |
1955-1956 |
George Henry Hambley (1896-1983) |
1956-1957 |
Charles Sear |
1957-1965 |
D. McKeand |
1965-1966 |
Frank Sims |
1966-1970 |
D. McKeand |
1970-1971 |
G. Hay |
1971-1975 |
T. Scott |
1975-1977 |
Frank Sims |
1977-1978 |
Clifford Wesley Carrothers (1914-2010) |
1978-? |
? |
?-2017 |
Robert Beamish |
2017-? |
Angie Klym |
Collections
A notable feature of the museum is its Homesteaders Village, a collection of over twenty original and replica buildings situated along a portion of the old Fort Ellice Trail. Intended to illustrate the early pioneer experience in Manitoba, the village includes the following 19 municipally-designated heritage buildings:
Building |
Description |
Designation Year |
Arizona United Church |
This church, that served the community of Arizona from 1898 to 1974, was moved to the museum in 1975 |
|
Ayr School No. 150 |
This original log school building was used from 1883 to 1908, brought to the museum in 1968 |
|
Brookdale Grain Warehouse |
|
2022 |
Canadian National Railway Freight and Passenger Shelter |
This small railway building, constructed at Katrime in 1919, was moved to a farm near MacGregor after it was no longer used by the railway then moved to the museum in 2002 |
|
Canadian National Railway Station |
This CNR building was moved from Baldur in 1975 |
|
Canadian Pacific Railway Toolshed |
This simple CNR maintenance building, once located at Austin, was moved to the museum in 1995 |
|
Canadian Pacific Railway Water Tower |
This 1900 CPR structure, similar to the former Glenboro Railway Water Tower and the Clearwater Water Tower, was moved from MacGregor in 1987 |
2013 |
Carrothers Barn |
|
|
Carrothers House |
This building was the former residence of museum founder Thomas James Carrothers and his family |
|
Centreville School No. 606 |
This wood frame schoolhouse was moved to the museum in 1960 |
|
Union No. 108 Masonic Lodge |
|
|
Manitoba Telephone System Building |
|
|
Mekiwin Manor |
This residence, built in 1918 by the Hutchison family south of Gladstone, was moved to the museum in 1976 |
|
Muir Cabin |
The oldest structure in the village, dating from 1879, this log structure was moved from its original location southeast of MacGregor to the museum in 1972 |
|
Muirhead House |
This house, built of squared poplar logs by the Muirhead family near Carberry in the 1880s, was moved to the museum in 1973 |
|
Pembina Bridge |
A steel pony truss bridge, built over the Pembina River in 1893 (about N49.14829, W98.56401), is believed to be the oldest extant bridge in Manitoba |
|
St. Saviour’s Anglican Church |
This church was moved here from its original site west of Minnedosa to the museum in 1972 |
|
Westbourne Post Office |
This building, originally built at Westbourne in 1902, was moved to the museum in 1972 |
|
Western Canada Flour Mills Grain Elevator |
This “standard plan” grain elevator was built in 1901 at Austin for the Western Canada Flour Mills, later sold to Manitoba Pool Elevators, and was moved to the museum in 1976 |
2013 |
Photos & Coordinates
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Thomas James Carrothers (1880-1967)
Memorable Manitobans: Donald Ephriam Carrothers (1910-1988)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Brookdale Grain Warehouse (Brookdale, Municipality of North Cypress-Langford)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Steam Tractor Monument (Austin, Municipality of North Norfolk)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fort Ellice Trail Crossing (RM of Wallace-Woodworth)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Amateur Radio Museum (Austin, Municipality of North Norfolk)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Pembina Threshermen’s Museum (RM of Stanley)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Port Nelson (Hudson Bay, Northern Manitoba)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Sandilands Forest Discovery Centre (Sandilands Provincial Forest, RM of Reynolds)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Prairie Churches Project / Manitoba Prairie Icons Project
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Railway Stations
Manitoba Business: Oak Lake News
Sources:
Manitoba Agricultural Museum
Pioneering in Highway Bridges for the Province of Manitoba and the Engineering Profession by George A. DePauw, 1993, page 28.
We thank Georgette Hutlet, David Ennis, George Penner, and David Ford for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 15 July 2023
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Historic Sites of Manitoba
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