Note: Because some of these documents are large, we have also broken them into smaller pieces for ease of download

A History of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia by Norma Hall with Clifford P. Hall and Erin Verrier. Manitoba: Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Manitoba, 2010. Print.

Download A History of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia (28 pages, 0.2 MB, PDF)

Original research about the little-known Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia government headed by Louis Riel, which functioned from March 9 to June 24, 1870.

Architectural Heritage – Selkirk and District Planning Area by David Butterfield. Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Recreation – Historic Resources, 1988. Print

Download Architectural Heritage - The Selkirk and District Planning Area (217 pages, 11 MB, PDF)
Download Architectural Heritage - The Selkirk and District Planning Area - Part 1 (110 pages, 6 MB, PDF)
Download Architectural Heritage - The Selkirk and District Planning Area - Part 2 (107 pages, 5 MB, PDF)

Grand Marais Walking Tour Project by David Butterfield for the Grand Marais Heritage Committee, 2018.

Download Grand Marais Walking Tour Project (167 pages, 7 MB, PDF)

Featuring a ‘Guide for the Guides’, a guide training kit, tour themes and a sample tour of Grand Marais, Manitoba, Canada.

Pioneer Work: The Types of Work that Shaped the R.M. of St. Clements 1880 – 1940 by David Butterfield for the RM of St. Clements Heritage Committee, 2018.

Download Pioneer Work - The Types of Work that Shaped the R.M. of St. Clements 1880-1940 (82 pages, 13 MB, PDF)
Download Pioneer Work - The Types of Work that Shaped the R.M. of St. Clements 1880-1940 - Part 1 (41 pages, 5 MB, PDF)
Download Pioneer Work - The Types of Work that Shaped the R.M. of St. Clements 1880-1940 - Part 2 (41 pages, 8 MB, PDF)

This project is about work. It is specifically about work in the Rural Municipality of St. Clements during its formative years – 1880-1940. It is about work because it’s mostly what we do, even now, and because the work we do shapes and forms the communities in which we live. And in any community’s early years, work takes on special significance – for it was often the very thing that “made” the community.

St. Peter’s Dynevor Windmill by David Butterfield for St. Clements Heritage Committee, 2015.

Download St Peters Dynevor Windmill (81 pages, 7 MB, PDF)
Download St Peters Dynevor Windmill Part 1 (39 pages, 3 MB, PDF)
Download St Peters Dynevor Windmill Part 2 (42 pages, 4 MB, PDF)

For about 50 years, from 1833 to the mid 1880s, a remarkable community was developed on the banks of the Red River just north of present-day Selkirk. Known at the time as the Indian Settlement, or the Indian Village, this very first Aboriginal agricultural settlement in what would become Manitoba was undertaken by a band of Saulteaux and Cree peoples under the leadership of Chief Peguis. This report is mainly an attempt to “recreate” one of the St. Peter’s Indian Settlement windmills – to suggest what it looked like, how it operated.

St. Jude’s Anglican Church by Donna Sutherland for the St. Clements Heritage Committee, 2009.

Download St. Jude's Anglican Church (18 pages, 1 MB, PDF)

Built in 1896, St. Jude’s Church has been a key part of the community of Grand Marais for 113 years. The structure is architecturally significant because of the material used in its formation – black poplar log with dovetailed ends and local fieldstone with mortar. The church also holds cultural significance in that it is one of the few protestant churches in the municipality to have been built, maintained, and attended by a community of primarily Métis people.

Local

City of Selkirk Archives

This local archive is closed to the public, but you can speak to the archivist.

Gaynor Family Library

This library has a Heritage Room dedicated to historic research. Be sure to check the catalogues, data bases, vertical files, scrapbooks, newspapers and books.

Selkirk Mental Health Centre Archives

Is a record of the development of Mental Health Services and Psychiatric nursing in Manitoba. They have letter, publications, photos artefacts, oral histories and more.

Provincial

Archives of Manitoba and the Hudson’s Bay Company Archives

The Archives of Manitoba is the official government archive of the province of Manitoba and the Hudson’s Bay Company Archive has the records of this fur trading company that was so pivotal to the development of Manitoba.

Manitoba Legislative Library

Manitoba’s Legislative Library was established in 1870, the year that the province entered Confederation. Collections include material on history, public administration, economics, biography and the political and social sciences. Other collection highlights include Manitoba government publications from the earliest days of the province, a rare book collection housed in a climate-controlled vault, and Manitoba newspapers dating from 1859. Since 1919, the library has received copies of all books and serials published in the Province.

Historic Resources Branch

Municipalities, Municipal Heritage Advisory Committees (MHACs) or other community heritage organizations doing history research can contact the for advice on research methods and sources. The branch has pamphlets, brochures and reports on individuals, events, buildings and other sites on Manitoba’s history. It also has some unpublished and out-of-print Historic Resources Branch research reports, which can be viewed by appointment at the branch office.

• Contact information: Historic Resources Branch Main Floor, 213 Notre Dame Avenue Winnipeg MB R3B 1N3 Phone: 204-945-2118 Toll free: 1-800-282-8069 E-mail: hrb@gov.mb.ca Web: gov.mb.ca/chc/hrb/

There are many books available on Manitoba history. These are just a few of them. Most of these sources are available at your local public or school library, university libraries and the Legislative Library of Manitoba in Winnipeg.

There are many older and out of print books available digitally on the Manitoba Historical Society website, Our Roots website, and Peel’s Prairie Provinces website.

• The Canadian Prairies: A History by Gerald Friesen. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1984 reprinted in 2004. Print.
  • Significant information on and analysis of Manitoba’s history
• The Centennial History of Manitoba by James A. Jackson. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd. and the Manitoba Historical Society, 1970. Print.
  • An academic standard on Manitoba’s history, though it is several decades old.
• The Dictionary of Canadian Biography edited by Réal Bélanger and John English. 12 vols. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division, 2005. Print.
  • Biographies of notable people in Canada from the years 1000 to 1930. These and more are available online at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography website.
• Encyclopedia of Manitoba edited by Ingeborg Boyens. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Great Plains Publications, 2007. 850 pages. English. Print.
  • All aspects of Manitoba’s history, arts, politics, geography, business and sports are explored in almost 2000 entries, each written and researched by expert Manitobans.
• Manitoba: A History by William L. Morton. Toronto:University of Toronto Press, 1957, second-edition printed 1967. 547 pages. English. Print.
  • An academic standard on Manitoba’s history, though it is several decades old.
• Manitoba 125: A History (in three volumes) by Greg Shilliday, editor. Vol. 1 Rupert’s Land to Riel, vol 2 Gateway to the West, vol 3 Decades of Diversity. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Great Plains Publications Ltd., 1993, 1994, 1995. Print
  • Written in accessible, non-academic style.
• Pioneers and Early Citizens of Manitoba: A Dictionary of Manitoba Biography from the Earliest Times to 1920 compiled by the Manitoba Library Association. Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1971. English. Print.
  • Biographies of people in Manitoba from all walks of life up to 1920. This book is available online on the Manitoba Historical Society website at http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/pioneers.shtml

Red River North Area Websites

• Red River North Heritage at redrivernorthheritage.com
• R.M. of St. Clements at rmofstclements.com
• City of Selkirk at myselkirk.ca
• R.M. of St. Andrews at rmofstandrews.com
• St. Andrews Heritage Centre at standrewsrectory.ca
• Marine Museum at marinemuseum.ca
• Red River Ancestry.ca at redriverancestry.ca

Manitoba Websites

• Association for Manitoba Museums at museumsmanitoba.com
• Heritage Manitoba at heritagemanitoba.ca
  • Your one-stop source for information, resources and advice on the development of a strong, effective and sustainable community heritage venture.
• Heritage Winnipeg at heritagewinnipeg.com
• Historic Resources Branch (HRB) at gov.mb.ca/chc/hrb
  • The provincial government’s Historic Resources Branch features primary research; archeological sites, artifacts and excavation; building conservation; community heritage; heritage designation; planning and more.
• Hudson’s Bay Company Archives at gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/hbca
• Jewish Heritage Centre at jhcwc.org
• Manitoba Archaeological Society at manitobaarchaeologicalsociety.ca
• Manitoba Archives at gov.mb.ca/chc/archives/index.html
• Manitoba Genealogical Society at mbgenealogy.com
• Manitoba Heritage Council Commemorative Plaques at gov.mb.ca/chc/hrb/plaques
• Manitoba Historical Society (MHS) at mhs.mb.ca
  • This is a very large and comprehensive website featuring all aspects Manitoba history.
• Manitobia: Life and Times at manitobia.ca
  • Search or browse over 35 historical Manitoba newspapers to learn about Manitoba’s history.This website is an initiative of the Manitoba Library Consortium to collect historical documents online to be accessed free of charge.
• Provincial Heritage Sites at gov.mb.ca/chc/hrb/prov
• Provisional Government of Assiniboia at hallnjean2.wordpress.com
  • The website’s purpose is to “acknowledge the contribution of original North American peoples to the creation of Manitoba”. It provides a chronology of events from the year 1390 leading up to the Riel Resistance, culminating in the creation of Manitoba in 1870. Includes a list of the people of Assiniboia. Based on A History of the Legislative Assembly of Assiniboia by Norma Hall, published by the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, the province of Manitoba, and the Manitoba Métis Federation.
• St. Boniface Historical Society/Centre du patrimoine at shsb.mb.ca/en
• Travel Manitoba at travelmanitoba.com
  • Some Manitoba heritage sites profiled and promoted here

Canadian Websites

• Archives Canada at archivescanada.ca
• The Canadian Encyclopedia published by Historica Canada at thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en
  • Features over 35,000 articles in English and French and over 6000 interactive maps, graphs, photographs and animations. Updated daily
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography – Library and Archives Canada at biographi.ca
  • Features over 8500 biographies of people who played a role in the formation of Canada. Includes those who died between the years 1000 and 1930, as well as a few from pre-1000 and over 70 from post-1930. New biographies added regularly. Available in English and French.
• Our Roots at ourroots.ca
  • Has 222 books about Manitoba history to read online
• Parks Canada at pc.gc.ca
• Peel’s Prairie Provinces at peel.library.ualberta.ca
  • A resource dedicated to assisting scholars, students, and researchers of all types in their exploration of western Canadian history and the culture of the Canadian prairies.

International Heritage Websites

• Steamboats on the Red video on YouTube

First Nations and Métis

• Site Review: St. Peter’s and the Interpretation of the Agriculture of Manitoba’s Aboriginal People by Sarah Carter, St. John’s College, University of Manitoba. Originally published in Manitoba History, Number 18, Autumn 1989, now available on the Manitoba Historical Society’s website.
  • A examination of First Nation agriculture in Manitoba
• Aboriginal Languages, Manitoba Aboriginal and Northern Affairs at edu.gov.mb.ca/abedu/languages
• The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs at manitobachiefs.com
• First Nations in Manitoba, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada at aadnc-aandc.gc.ca
  • Features original Indian treaties and related historical information.
• The Heritage of Métis Language in Western Canada at ameriquefrancaise.org
• Louis Riel Institute at louisrielinstitute.com
  • Features extensive information on Métis knowledge, culture and heritage.
• Manitoba Métis Federation at mmf.mb.ca
• Peguis First Nation at peguisfirstnation.ca
• See Provisional Government of Assiniboia listing under Manitoba Websites
• Treaty Relations Committee of Manitoba at trcm.ca

Religion and Churches

• Catholic Online (Saints and Angels) at catholic.org
• History of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry at whitechapelbellfoundry.co.uk/foundry.htm
• John Taylor & Co. (Loughborough Bell Foundry) at taylorbells.co.uk
• Kildonan Presbyterian Cemetery at kildonanpresbyteriancemetery.com
• Little Britain United Church at littlebritainunitedchurch.ca
• New Advent (Catholic Encyclopedia) at: newadvent.org