Historic Sites of Manitoba: Pointe du Bois Staff House (Pointe du Bois, Whiteshell Provincial Park)

A four-storey brick and concrete building near the Pointe du Bois Hydroelectric Generating Station was built to accommodate workers employed by the Winnipeg Hydro-Electric System (forerunner of Winnipeg Hydro, now merged with Manitoba Hydro). Designed by Frederick Francis LeMaistre (1877-1955) of the company’s engineering staff, construction by the James McDiarmid Company began on 31 March 1926 under the supervision of J. M. Morton. Measuring 38 feet wide and 54 feet long, the building had a verandah and balconies on the front facing the Winnipeg River. In the basement was a cook’s residence, boiler room, and storeroom. On the ground floor was a sitting room with an open fireplace, and a reading and writing room and dining room separated by folding doors that enabled them to be connected when a larger space was needed. There was also a kitchen, pantry and pastry room, and wash room. The second and third floors had identical layouts, each with seven single bedrooms, one double bedroom, and lavatories with showers rather than bathtubs. Space was available in the attic for four or five additional bedrooms, if needed. An official opening ceremony occurred on 15 August 1926.

Pointe du Bois Staff House

Pointe du Bois Staff House (1926)
Source: “The Dotted Line,” Vol. 2, No. 9, September 1926, page 10. [Manitoba Legislative Library]

Pointe du Bois Staff House

Pointe du Bois Staff House (1968)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Architectural Survey, Pointe du Bois #1.

Pointe du Bois Staff House

Pointe du Bois Staff House (September 2013)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N50.29862, W95.55058
denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Pointe du Bois Generating Station (Pointe du Bois, Whiteshell Provincial Park)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Pointe du Bois Staff House (Pointe du Bois, Whiteshell Provincial Park)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Pointe du Bois Stone House (Pointe du Bois, Whiteshell Provincial Park)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Slave Falls Generating Station (Winnipeg River, Whiteshell Provincial Park)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Rover Avenue Electric Terminal (199 Annabella Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Hydro Showroom (55 Princess Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Hydro Substation No. 1 (54 King Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Hydro Substation No. 2 (300 McPhillips Street, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: May Street Substation / Winnipeg Hydro Substation No. 3 (541 Waterfront Drive, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Hydro Substation No. 4 (811 St. Matthews Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Hydro Substation No. 5 (Scotland Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Hydro War Memorial (Winnipeg)

Sources:

“New staff residence at Pointe Du Bois,” The Dotted Line, Vol. 2, No. 9, September 1926, page 10. [Manitoba Legislative Library]

Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.

We thank Diane McMillan for providing information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 22 May 2021

Historic Sites of Manitoba

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