Monuments / Statues
Assiniboine River (St. François Xavier)
The Assiniboine River, plaque at Junction Trans-Canada Highway and Highway #26. The Assiniboine River, chief tributary of the Red River which it joins in the City of Winnipeg, takes its name from the Assiniboine Indians through whose hunting grounds it flowed. The river rises in the Province of Saskatchewan and is approximately 600 miles in length. A number of trading posts were established along its banks by the North West, XY and Hudson’s Bay companies, and on its waters plied canoes, York boats, and stern wheel steamers. The first post along its banks was built in 1738 by La Verendrye who called it the St. Charles River.
Cenotaph (Saint-Claude)
A cenotaph was erected in 1921, and is dedicated both to soldiers who have fallen during the First World War, and those who have fallen since, in wars throughout the world. Every July 14th, a Bastille Day celebration is held to honor their memory, and in commemoration of the 1789 destruction of the Bastille prison in France.
Chanoinesses monument (Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes)
The Chanoinesses monument, found in front of the convent, commemorates the Order’s important local contributions to education, culture, health care and religion.
Church Carillon (St. Eustache)
The church carillon is the largest carillon in all of western Canada. The bells were purchased in France in 1928, and were first installed in the steeple. In 1990 they were installed into the present tower in front of the church. Their total weight is 5500 pounds.
Coke Can (Portage la Prairie)
Portage is home to the world’s largest Coke Can.
Cuthbert Grant (1793 - 1854) (St. François Xavier)
Grant, founder of Grantown, was the son of Cuthbert Grant senior, a prominent North West Company trader. Cuthbert Grant the younger became an outstanding leader of the Métis and led the North West Company forces at the massacre at Seven Oaks in 1816. In 1823, Cuthbert Grant was selected by Gov. George Simpson and the Hudson Bay Company, to initiate and lead the move of the Métis people at Pembina, which had been declared south of the border, to theWhite Horse Plain. Upon their arrival, the settlement was called Grantown, and Cuthbert Grant hailed as the leader of this “New Nation”, the Métis. Grantown was predominantly French with Roman Catholic beliefs. Early church services were held in Grant’s home, and later the area became the second Catholic parish in Manitoba. The Hudson’s Bay Company named him Warden of the Plains in 1828. His task was to marshal the Métis in defense of the Red River settlement. Later he became Councillor, Sheriff and Magistrate of the District of Assiniboia. The Métis began mixed farming, but continued to hunt buffalo twice a year.
Dom Paul Benoit statue (Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes)
The bronze statue by Franco-Manitoba artist Réal Bérard, depicts Dom Paul Benoît, founder of the community.
Fort Ellice Trail (St. François Xavier)
Plaque at Junction Trans- Canada Highway and Highway #26. For most of the nineteenth century the Canadian grasslands were criss-crossed with thousands of miles of connecting trails. They were largely made by Red River cart brigades connecting the fur-trading posts with each other and with the buffalo hunting grounds. One of the major trails wound its way from the Red River settlement to Fort Edmonton some 900 miles to the north-west. The section leading from Fort Garry to this district was known as the Fort Ellice Trail. In its time it was used by Indians, traders, hunters, missionaries, Mounted Police, surveyors and settlers.
Georges-Antoine Belcourt (1803 - 1874) (St. François Xavier)
Plaque at Baie St. Paul Cemetery. The Reverend Georges-Antoine Belcourt established the agricultural mission of St. Paul on the Assiniboine River near here where, for fifteen years, he sought to change the beliefs and way of life of the native people. Belcourt’s fluency in the Saulteaux language (Anishinabemowin) enabled him to become their confidant and advisor. His support of Métis grievances against the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1846-7 brought him into conflict with the political authorities and his Roman Catholic superiors. This rupture led to his departure for Dakota Territory, accompanied by many of his followers, where he continued to serve the white and native population.
Gladstone Memorial Cenotaph (Gladstone)
The Gladstone Memorial Cenotaph was constructed in 1923 in memory of the fallen soldiers in World War I. Additional names were added after World War II and the Korean War.
Gladstone Museum (Gladstone)
The Gladstone Museum showcases the history of the settlers of the Gladstone area. It is housed in Gladstone’s old Railway Station, and includes a CNR railway caboose.
William Morton (1908-1980), Plaque at Gladstone Museum. Born near Gladstone on land homesteaded by his father’s parents, W.L. Morton became one of Canada’s most distinguished writers of history. He believed that the historian’s duty was not simply to acquire facts, but to create and share an imaginative vision of the nation in which we live.
Glass Bottle Buildings (Treherne)
The glass bottle buildings (church, house, wishing well and outhouse) which were built on the Cain farm, have been relocated to a beautifully landscaped lot at the east end of Railway Avenue and Alexander Street. This eye-catching attraction of over 10,000 glass bottles is open for viewing June through August. Special arrangements for spring and fall viewing may be made by calling ahead. Each winter the glass bottle buildings are illuminated in the spirit of the holidays, making it quite a festive winter attraction!
Grotto (Saint-Claude)
The Grotto is located on the property which formerly belonged to the Sisters of the Cross convent, now part of the first parish cemetery enclosure. It was erected as a gift of appreciation to Sister Marie-Adelard for her 25 years of religious life by her former students.
Happy Rock (Gladstone)
The design dimensions of the Happy Rock are 25’ high and the base itself would be 17 ½’ wide. The base of the Happy Rock houses a visitor’s information centre as well as public washroom facilities.
Happy Rock was officially opened as a tourist information center on July 1st 1993. The information centre, operates during the summer months from the long weekend in May until the Labour Day weekend in September. Visitors can stop at the centre to access road information, purchase promotional material, or simply relax at the picnic area and take a picture of themselves with the Happy Rock.
Keeshkeemaquah Statue (Long Plains First Nation)
A memorial plaque and stone in memory of Keeshkeemaquah, Long Plain’s first, longest serving, and last hereditary Chief, is located at his burial site on Long Plain. A statue and plaque of Keeshkeemaquah stands on Crescent Road West in Portage la Prairie.
Military monument (Treherne)
The Treherne Military monument was erected in thememory of those who gave their lives in the First and Second World Wars.
Old Bell of Saint Claude (Saint-Claude)
The Old Bell of Saint-Claude (1921) was taken from the town’s second church, and is featured on the existing church grounds.
Pascal Breland (1811 - 1896) (St. François Xavier)
Plaque at St. François Community Park. Pascal Breland (du Boishué dit Berland) was a prosperous farmer and landowner who also engaged in hunting and trade on the western plains. Born in the Saskatchewan Valley in 1811, this prominent citizen of St. François-Xavier became one of the political leaders of Métis society. He served as magistrate for the White Horse Plains district and held a number of other government positions. Breland represented the people of St. François-Xavier in the Council of Assiniboia and the first Legislative Assembly of the Province of Manitoba. He was a member of the Council of the North-West Territories from 1872 to 1887 and was instrumental in initiating negotiations which culminated in the signing of Indian Treaty Number Four in 1874.
Pierre Falcon (1793 - 1876) (St. François Xavier)
Plaque at St. François Xavier Community Park. One of Manitoba’s earliest song writers, Pierre Falcon was born of French Canadian and Cree parentage in the Swan River Department of the North West Company. He was employed in turn by the North West Company and the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1825, Falcon was one of the first settlers of Cuthbert Grant’s village of Grantown. A much respected member of the local Métis population, he served as magistrate there for many years. Falcon was best known for such entertaining ballads as “Chanson de la Grenouillére” which expressed Métis national feelings while humorously depicting local and political events that affected their lives. Transmitted orally through family gatherings and by voyageurs in their travels, only a few of his many songs have survived.
Riverview Park (Headingley)
Located along the banks of the Assiniboine River, Riverview Park displays historical plaques and its pathway offers a beautiful setting for walks.
The Lynch Party (Westbourne)
In 1871, a party of Scots from Middlesex County, Ontario settled along the Rat Creek and Whitemud River. They were led by Walter Lynch (1835-1908), a member of the Wolseley Expedition of 1870. The 56 settlers advocated a scientific approach to agriculture. In 1871, they introduced the Province’s first successful pure bred stock — Leicester sheep. In 1873 they brought in the first registered Shorthorn cattle. Besides their contributions to scientific agriculture, members of the Lynch Party and their descendants contributed greatly to the development of the Province. Lynch’s Point was a favorite spot for many family picnics of the early settlers who came here and settled along Rat Creek & the Whitemud River.
White Horse Plain (St. François Xavier)
A Sioux Indian chief wished to marry the beautiful daughter of an Assiniboine chief. The Assiniboine, however, gave his daughter’s hand to a Cree chief with whom she was in love because the Cree offered a rare snow white horse as a gift. The angry Sioux pursued the Cree and his bride whose father had returned the horse to help them escape. The Sioux killed them both but the horse escaped. For years it was seen roaming the surrounding plain and in memory of the young lovers this part of Manitoba became known as White Horse Plain.
Williams Park (Gladstone)
Postage Stamp Province, Plaque at Williams Park. Here ran the west original boundary of the Province of Manitoba. On July 15, 1870 Manitoba officially became a Canadian province. It then measured about 130 miles east to west and 110 miles north to south, with an area of 13,928 square miles. Its size and shape gave it the nickname “the Postage Stamp Province.” Boundaries were extended in 1881 and 1912.