There were 2 distinct eras of coal mining in our region - 1883-1908 and 1931-1943 - and two distinct areas - the more broadly known location is situated in Brenda-Waskada Municipality just off Highway 21. There is a lesser known location roughly 8 km SE of Deloraine.

There was much excitement around the discovery of coal, and in the early days, even talk of a railroad from the mines to Deloraine in order to get the coal to market. That never came to pass but local coal supplied the surrounding area with fuel, provided jobs during hard times like the depression, and made our area more appealing to settlers as a place to live. 

A Manitoba Heritage Council plaque located at Lat: N 49°03.520’ Long: W 100°33.401’ in Brenda-Waskada commemorates the site of Manitoba’s only commercial coal mines in the Turtle Mountain Region.

The two coal mines that were operational within the RM of Deloraine-Winchester were McArthur and Hainsworth mines, later purchased by the Manitoba Coal Company.

You can find more information on Manitoba's Coal Rush here: Manitoba's Coal Rush

There were 2 distinct eras of coal mining in our region - 1883-1908 and 1931-1943 - and two distinct areas - the more broadly known location is situated in Brenda-Waskada Municipality just off Highway 21. There is a lesser known location roughly 8 km SE of Deloraine.

There was much excitement around the discovery of coal, and in the early days, even talk of a railroad from the mines to Deloraine in order to get the coal to market. That never came to pass but local coal supplied the surrounding area with fuel, provided jobs during hard times like the depression, and made our area more appealing to settlers as a place to live. 

A Manitoba Heritage Council plaque located at Lat: N 49°03.520’ Long: W 100°33.401’ in Brenda-Waskada commemorates the site of Manitoba’s only commercial coal mines in the Turtle Mountain Region.

The two coal mines that were operational within the RM of Deloraine-Winchester were McArthur and Hainsworth mines, later purchased by the Manitoba Coal Company.

You can find more information on Manitoba's Coal Rush here: Manitoba's Coal Rush.

Turtle Mountain Mud produced by Turtle Mountain Souris Plains Heritage Association, also offers insights into coal mining in southwest Manitoba.

The Boundary Commission Trail was the first extended land ‘highway’ in Canada.

In 1818 the British and American governments established the Canada-USA boundary at the 49th parallel from Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains. It would be decades before it was extended to the Pacific (1846) and several more decades before it was properly surveyed. In 1872, the North American Boundary Commission, with contingents from both countries, commenced surveying at Lake of the Woods, Ontario. They overwintered at Fort Dufferin (present day Emerson), and in the spring opened a trail to Cartwright. From there they followed an existing trail long used by First Nations, Metis, and fur traders. The old and new trails became part of what is still known today as the Boundary Commission Trail which extended to Waterton Lake, Alberta. Prior too the arrival of the railroad the trail was used extensively by Euro-settlers seeking farmland. 

Here in Deloraine-Winchester, where the trail crosses Turtlehead Creek, is found one of the longest intact portions of the Boundary Commission Trail in Manitoba. 

For more information on the Boundary Commission Trail, follow these links: The Boundary Commission Trail | Boundary Commission Trail - Turtlehead Creek Crossing | Boundary Trail Heritage Region

Photos sourced from the book: North American Boundary Commission

Photographs, 1872-1875, Library and Archives Canada

Dakota Chief H’damani of the Macha Low Band, 3rd from right, and Bogaga with pipe. Names sourced from: https://www.metismuseum.ca/resource.php/14182

Residential

DWHS appreciates that the vast majority of these homes were also built for, and occupied by, a ‘Mrs.’ as well as a ‘Mr.’ Unfortunately, those ladies’ names have not been recorded.

Many homes are noted as ‘built prior to 1904’ – this is the year that Deloraine was incorporated as a village. If the year a home was built wasn’t noted specifically elsewhere we can only know it was built prior to the first year Deloraine had a tax roll.

The site of Old Deloraine is marked by one of only 3 stone vaults in the province of Manitoba - the others can be found at Pilot Mound and Red Deer Lake - and it's possible that the three are the only remaining stone vaults in Western Canada. This vault was built in 1884 by George Rickard for "A.P. & F.T. Stewart, Bankers and Brokers" who opened Deloraine's first bank in 1882. In addition to holding bank documents it is thought the Land Titles office also stored important papers here. 

The vault was only two years old when the village of Deloraine moved, 'lock, stock and barrel', about 8 km to the northwest in order to be next to the rail line. The CPR (Canadian Pacific Railway) much preferred laying track on flat prairie as opposed to having to cross multiple gullies and ravines, no matter how picturesque the location. Without a rail line there was no future so over the winter of 1886-87 almost every building in the village was placed on skids and hauled to our present townsite. 

The vault has been declared a Manitoba Municipal Heritage Site: Manitoba Municipal Heritage Site No. 100

All that remains to mark Old Deloraine is the Bank Vault. To visit, turn south off Highway 21 onto Road 132W (watch for golf course signage). Travel one mile to Rd 11N and turn left. At the first farmyard on your right (south side of the road) turn into the yard and drive past the buildings. The vault is located just out of sight at the south end of the yard. Feel free to drive in, the owners do not mind the company! 

NE 30-2-22
GPS Coordinates: 49.159283, -100.407564
DMS Coordinates: 49°09’33.4″N 100°24’27.2″W

Billy's Point is not accessible to the general public, it is located on private property. 

The Metis have a very deeply rooted presence in the Turtle Mountains.

As a regular stopping point for the Aboriginal nomadic hunters the area was eventually settled by the metis in the early 1900’s. 

Billy Gosselin and his family were one of the first families to make the area around Lake Dromore their home. 

For more information on Billy Gosselin and Billy's Point, follow the link provided Billy's Point

The Turtle Mountain Local is one of 18 locals in SW Region of the Manitoba Metis Federation that has made it their mission to preserve, protect, and educate people of their unique culture, history, food, music and dance.