Preserving the History of the Town of Boissevain and the Surrounding Community since 1976
Mandate
The Boissevain Community Archives hold material deposited by municipalities, churches, organizations, families and individuals concerning the Boissevain, R.M. of Morton and Turtle Mountain areas.
Local residents and visitors are welcome to conduct their own research on site. Or, research requests may be submitted to the archives staff. Staff research has a cost attached, please see our archives research page for complete details and our online request form.
Archival Photo Displays
Location
The Boissevain Community Archives are located in a separate room at the Boissevain & Morton Regional Library. The Archives are under the jurisdiction of the Library Board and are operated by library personnel. The Community Archives are financially supported by the Town of Boissevain and the R. M. of Morton as part of their annual grants to the Library.
Materials Available
Archive materials are not available for borrowing locally or via ILL. However, barring restrictions on certain fonds, copies may be made of archive material. For information on requesting copies please see our archives research page.
Here are some examples of the kind of materials housed in the Community Archives.
Education
Attendance records, minute books & financial records (many on microfilm) follow the evolution of the Rural Schools from 1890 to 1966.
Cemetery
Records for Boissevain and some neighboring cemeteries are available. A map shows the location of the plots and information from the grave markers has been recorded.
Newspapers
Issues from the local newspapers are available on microfilm:
- The Boissevain Globe (1890 – 1911), and
- The Boissevain Recorder (1899 – 1990)
Private papers
- The H. F. Howard journals chronicle his work as Provincial Bridge Superintendent and as Superintendent of the International Peace Garden.
- The Ed Dow collection documents his involvement in local and provincial politics. The collection also includes historical information on the Turtle Mountain Flour Mill & the Dow Mills at Pilot Mound & Neepawa.
Still images
The photograph collection records the story of many family, school, church and community events.
Oral Histories
Interviews with interesting people of the community are available on audio tape.
Great Northern Railway
A considerable amount of data is available on the Brandon, Saskatchewan and Hudson’s Bay (Great Northern) Railway (1906 – 1936) and other railroads of the area.
Materials Wanted
Building an archival collection is an on going process and is dependent on the interest & generosity of the community. Some records are difficult to locate. Kitchen photographs and those taken during the 1930’s are in short supply. Histories of businesses are needed.
Organizations should consider depositing their annual reports, minutes, and financial records at regular intervals. The archives staff are always happy to meet with donors and discuss the addition of new records to the collection.