Silver Heights was a stopping place on the Portage Trail and refuge of settlers during the floods of 1826 and 1852. Here, in 1856, John Rowand Jr. of the Hudson’s Bay Company built a log house that was enlarged and occupied by James McKay, Speaker of the Manitoba Legislative Council, by Donald A. Smith (Lord Strathcona) later Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and by Manitoba’s first two Lieutenant-Governors. It was destroyed by fire in 1892. For several years, a herd of bison were kept in this area.
A plaque and structure on the west side of Mount Royal Road at the corner of Traill Avenue was unveiled on 28 April 1958 at a ceremony of the Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba. The location is a municipally-designated historic site.
Silver Heights Gates (2010)
Source: City of Winnipeg
Silver Heights Gates (June 2023)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Silver Heights commemorative plaque (June 2023)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.87688, W97.24558
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba / Manitoba Heritage Council
HRB Pamphlets: Silver Heights
Manitoba Business: Frank R. Lount and Son
Historic Sites of Manitoba: James McKay Plaque (2109 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
“Silver Heights - from family estate to subdivision,” Winnipeg Free Press, 9 April 1955, page 22.
“Silver Heights,” Historic Sites Advisory Board Office Files, Schedule CH0263, Accession GR1597, Archives of Manitoba.
Silver Heights Gates, 0 Mount Royal Road, Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee, March 1995.
Information for this page was provided by The City of Winnipeg’s Planning, Property and Development Department, which acknowledges the contribution of the Government of Manitoba through its Heritage Grants Program.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 6 June 2024
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