TOURISM

Local Tourist Attraction The Heritage Museum

Located on the grounds of a 19th-century homestead, The Heritage Centre provides a fun, interesting and educational experience for all its guests. The property features a 1904 historic barn, Alberta History Museum, 1915 Heritage Home, Homestead Cabin, Old Fashioned Ice Cream, Candy and Canada Gift Shop. Guests will take a step back in time with exhibits, artifacts and stories of times gone by. There are special programs and events held on the Heritage Centre grounds throughout the year, so there is always something new happening for guests to enjoy. We hope to see you soon at The Heritage Centre.

Absolutely beautiful place! The history and the detail and care taken in the restoration are amazing. I highly recommend visiting or booking for an event

-Benson K

Events & Programs

MVE Museum provides education programs, lectures, tours, children’s events, workshops and exhibits

SCHOOL VISITS

Curriculum connected programs for students and Teachers all across Alberta.

FAMILY TOURS

Provide opportunity for families to learn Alberta’s past, present and future through activities that are immersive, educational and fun.

CORPORATE EDUCATION PARTNERS

We offer guided tours and special exhibition programs to connect visitors to educational and historical exhibits. We welcome corporate tours and programs.

Hours of Operation

Open to the Public: 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM Sundays May 1 to Oct 31
Open by Appointment: Monday for Friday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Museum exhibitions are closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Day, and New Year’s Day
To arrange a guided tour please Contact: [email protected]

Exhibits

The Heritage Museum

The Heritage Museum is proud of its Mission to promote and preserve the rich history of Alberta, its homesteads, excursionists, Eaton’s Catalogue Homes, communication and of course the History of Barns. The period of interest for this museum is the early 1900’s, focusing on rural life. The museum looks forward to hosting visiting exhibits of similar interest and period. This museum is presented by the owners and management of The Heritage Centre along with donations from residents from the Cremona Area. Many thanks to the local Families Gordon and Debora Salomons, Lynn and Carol Reid, Robert Reid, Sid and Patti Van der Meer, Wendy Fenton-Whitlow and Deb Johnson.

The Eatons’ Catalogue Home

The Heritage Museum proudly showcases an Eaton’s Catalogue Home built in 1915. The Eaton’s catalogue was the shopping mall for farm families in the early 1900s, the settlement period of the Canadian prairies. Coveralls for dad, a new dress for mom, and a special Christmas present for the kids, all came from Eaton’s in Winnipeg. The catalogue also supplied almost everything for the house, and, from 1910 to 1932, the house itself. Visitors will learn about the history and restoration of this beautiful piece of Canadian Architecture.

The History of Barns

There is nothing more “Alberta” than the sight of a big red barn. The backs of these grand buildings sway with age as time passes. Like the settlers and homesteaders that built them, Alberta Barns are grey and weathered by the Prairie Sun many falling to the effects of harsh Alberta winters and heavy
snow loads. For Alberta Homesteaders, building a barn was often part of the requirements of gaining the homestead lands under Canada’s “Dominion Lands Act.” As the land was settled, barns dotted the Alberta Landscape and became part of the agricultural history of our Province. But like the stories of our grandparents as time and generations pass, barns like memories fade and begin to disappear. A Barn, a Bent, A Ship and a Bank. Visitors to the Heritage Museum will learn the history of Barns, how and why they evolved from a simple log stable to this beautifully restored “Ship Style Bank Barn” that stands proudly on the Heritage Property. The Heritage Historic Barn was built in 1904 (approximately) by Jack Rattrey the man who homesteaded the Heritage Centre property. This majestic building stands proud more than 115 years after construction!

Wilf Carter and the Excursionists

From 1891 to 1929 the rail-borne harvest excursions were a noisy, colorful and important part of the Canadian scene. They were a reminder that in Canada wheat was king. They were something between a crusade and a binge, drudgery and adventure mixed together. Men packed a three-days’ grub supply and went to the railway station because the harvest promised gain. But they were also moved by a sense of duty, a quasi-patriotic feeling that they were needed in a national cause. The population of the prairie region was not large enough to supply sufficient labour to bring in the annual
harvest. Thousands of men and women were recruited, no experience necessary, and transported out west to work in the fields, to ensure that Canada maintained its reputation as the breadbasket of the world. The excursions were a huge undertaking and were critical for a successful harvest. First conceived by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1890, the annual harvest excursion quickly became a popular tradition, a tradition that contributed in no small way to the significance of the wheat economy to the western prairies and to the country at large. Harvest of the wheat crop was essential to Canada’s food supply, to consumers at home and abroad, and especially to individual farmers and their families. A famous Canadian “Wilf Carter The Yodelling Cowboy” came to Alberta on a Harvest Excursion. He came back to the Cremona Area and farmed 1 mile East of The Heritage Centre Property. Visitors to the Heritage Museum will learn how Wilf Carter and many Canadian, American, and European young men came to Alberta as Excursionists, fell in love with the “Last Best West”!