Heritage
Museums
- Wainwright District Museum
-
1st Avenue & Main Street, 1 block south of the Clock First-class facility located in the former CNR station on its original site. 18 rooms depict Wainwright’s pioneer days, CNR and buffalo history. Local general history collection dealing with Wainwright Buffalo Park, agricultural/pioneer life, military, oil industry and CN Railway display. Also have a radio and phone exhibit, and a model of the Battle River Trestle. Tours can be booked by calling 780-842-3115. The museum is jointly operated by Battle River Historical Society and Buffalo Park Foundation.
- Wainwright Rail Park Railway Museum
-
1300 - 4 Avenue South (Canola Road), first turn after you cross the railway tracks
The Wainwright Railway Preservation Society was formed to interpret the history of CN and it’s predecessor railways in Western Canada, with emphasis on the Wainwright area. Work is progressing on their 9.3 acre site, where three tracks display vintage railway equipment. The rolling stock includes a passenger car, two snowplows, two boxcars, cattle car, flatcar, caboose and a Jordan spreader. Two unique locomotives are the 6861 a Passenger “B” unit built in 1958 and the only example of its type remaining in Canada; 1404 is a uniquley Canadian GMD1 road switcher built in 1958 and recently donated by CN - it is the only locomotive of its class displayed in a museum. Two other pieces of rolling stock the Ex #76588 a former CN transfer cab of 1970s vintage and a former sleeping car “Matapedia,” built in 1923 for the CNR. A variety of displays, books, manuals, railway tools and orders related to railway operations can also be found on site.
-
Museums & Interpretive Centres
Wainwright Railway Preservation Society
- Edgerton Museum
-
Also referred to as the museum with everything from ‘Tea Cups to Tractors’. A fully restored windmill marks the museum site. The museum opened in 1984 and is keeping alive the memories of pioneer days of the village and surrounding area. The CN Station (complete with a CN Caboose), the Rural Battle Valley School (dating back to 1911) and the first Methodist Church houses many varied and historical artifacts. It also boasts the rare Viewegar Autochroms collection predating 1914. Tours can be arranged by calling 755-3762.
- Chauvin & District Museum
-
The Museum Board was formed in 1981 to locate a museum in the former St. Aubins School on the east side of Chauvin. Displays include rooms depicting pioneer homes with articles marked for the pioneer families who donated them. This makes displays interesting for local residents & visitors alike. Visitors can view the altar from the Battle River Lutheran Church & various memorabilia from Chauvin organizations such as Scouts, Legion, 4-H & the Village. Also located on the grounds is a variety of machinery and the former Roros School, which was built in 1910. Volunteers moved this structure from its location north of Chauvin to the Museum grounds in 1995 and by 2000; it was fully restored as a pioneer schoolroom. Tours are available by appointment by calling 858-3881.
- Climb Through Time Museum
-
The Alberta Wheat Pool elevator in Paradise Valley looks like the hundreds of such landmarks once scattered across the Prairies; but a closer look reveals that this one boasts a fresh coat of paint and numerous well-tended flowerbeds. A look inside the annex tells a different story than once did the sounds and smells of moving grain in earlier times. By turning the elevator into the “Climb Thru Time” Museum, the industrious folk of this vibrant and pastoral community, 50 kilometers northeast of here have not only saved their elevator from irreversible destruction, they have stood still the hands of time, at least for this generation, and hopefully beyond the next. Mark this attraction on your day-trip schedule, to be sure.
