History is an account of events from the past. Heritage deals with the outcomes of human activity —buildings and monuments, culture and folklore, beliefs and traditions—the products, it is often said, of the hands, head and heart. Heritage is created within the context of history so that knowledge of both history and heritage is essential to understanding our past.
Understanding our past is further complicated by the recognition that history doesn’t occur in a vacuum—it was the product of interaction of local people and circumstances within the context of provincial, national and international events. One of the most significant dates in the history of Carman/Dufferin area is 1870. This is when Manitoba became the fifth province of Canada, land was surveyed into townships and sections and opened to private ownership, and settlers flooded into the area to take up farming. Our system of local government was part of that 1870 heritage.
We’re fortunate in Carman/Dufferin to have a rich body of written history. However, most of it has been written since 1870 by our early settlers and their descendants; like other histories, it reflects the experiences and viewpoint of those who lived it. Our own work with Carman/Dufferin Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee identifying and preserving heritage inventories, life stories, local records and artifacts has been limited to pretty much the same time frame.
Where can you locate the broader background information to fully understand our past? Over the last several months we have been exploring the wider context of local history in several key areas.