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Recent History News Items from 2013
New Website (November 2013)
Launching our new heritage website marks the culmination of several months’ work on the part of the Carman/Dufferin Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee (CD MHAC) and our colleagues at the Historic Resources Branch (HRB) of Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism.
HRB examined 96 municipal websites in Western Canada and the USA . Few sites, including those in Manitoba, highlighted local heritage. To remedy this situation, HRB worked with the Gimli MHAC to develop a template that other areas could use for developing heritage content.Last December, our MHAC received a grant for a pilot project to see how well the template works in other settings. HRB has provided consultants and a webmaster; we have researched and provided the content.
We are proud to present this website as the result of our mutual efforts. The website is still a work in progress. We have tried to search out and cross-check our information as carefully as possible. Our main written sources included: The History of the RM of Dufferin in Manitoba 1880–1980 published by the RM of Dufferin , and A Review of the Heritage Resources of Boyne Planning District, a study by Karen Nicholson, Historic Resources Branch, 1984. Other sources are listed in the Local Heritage section of the website. The Dufferin Historical Museum has been a splendid source for photos and other information.
David McInnes (web consultant) and David Butterfield
(Historic Resources Branch) meeting with CD MHAC members
Boyne School Re-locates (Summer 2013)
The big heritage news in Carman/Dufferin this summer has been the relocation of Boyne School from its original site east of Carman to its new home in King’s Park, north of the Dufferin Historical Museum. The move marks the culmination of more than two years of planning and fundraising by the Museum under the leadership of Trish Aubin and her diligent Board of Directors.
Boyne School is one of just a few well-preserved one-room schools remaining in the province. The original log school was built in 1878. It was replaced by a frame structure in the 1890’s and by the present building in 1930. The school and land were designated as a Municipal Heritage Site by the RM of Dufferin in August, 1988. The building has now been re-designated by the Town of Carman.
The move is just the first part of the project, and a lot of restoration work still lies ahead. The Museum is working with Gord Menzies, a provincial Restoration Specialist, to restore the building in keeping with accepted guidelines. When it is completely refurbished with desks, maps, blackboards and books, the school will allow both old and young to step back in time and re-visit or newly experience one of the most important parts of our early heritage. Meantime, you can learn more about our early schools on this website.
One of the major concerns with any heritage venture is sustainability. It was long-term preservation concerns that prompted the Boyne School move; it is ongoing effort and funding that will keep it intact. The R.M. of Dufferin has just made a generous contribution towards ensuring this will happen. When the land the school was on east of Carman was sold by the municipality, Council decided to put the money into a fund to be used for the future upkeep of the school. We need to hear big applause for the R.M. as well as for all the other donors who have made the move possible, and, not least, for the Museum committee who are now in charge of the building and continuing to fundraise for restoration. Great community effort, folks!