Lac du Bonnet District Museum

08/20/2026

Mark your calendar!
We have an exciting announcement!

Join us September 19th from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM for "WHeels of the Homeland" at Halliday Park as we celebrate Truth and Reconciliation with our local Manitoba Metis Federation and the arrival of an incredible new outdoor exhibit – a handmade, to scale, Red River Cart.

This special event is open to the public, but a ticket is required for entry… The best part tickets are FREE!

Where to get your free tickets?

- Tonight at the Outdoor Mark - visit the Lac du Bonnet & District Historical Society booth
- Next week at the museum tickets will also be available leading up to the event.

Come pick up your free ticket and join us for a meaningful day of history, culture, learning, and community.

We’d love to see you there!!!

Mark September 19th on your calendar

We can't wait to celebrate with you….

08/06/2026

HEY KIDS !
Drop by the Museum to start your adventure!

07/30/2026

Hear ye, Hear ye, voyageurs!

Before our "Children of the Fur Trade " adventure begins Saturday August 1, we'd like to give a hearty "merci " to the amazing local businesses that have signed on as our official Trading Posts throughout the month of August.

Deals for Dollars , Grans Bakery , Cindy Lou's Coffee & Catering , Lac du Bonnet Library , Yellow Door, & Carnation Plus.

They've agreed to welcome our young voyageur agents as they travel from post to post, completing their adventures and keeping the spirit of the Fur Trade alive. We couldn't do it without their generosity & community spirit !

So if you spot a few determined explorers making the rounds with maps in hand, don't be surprised - they're not searching for Wi-Fi ...they're searching for their next Trading Post!

Thank you to all of our participating businesses for helping us turn our community into a Fur Trade adventure. Your support helps history come alive for the next generation of voyageurs, and we're grateful to have you on the journey.

Now .... Paddles Up!! The trading season is about to begin !!!

begins - August 1
ends - August 31
location - Lac du Bonnet District Museum
Pr # 502 in Halliday Park
open Wednesday to Sunday 10:00am - 4:00pm

07/25/2026

"Children of the Fur Trade" game returns to the Museum once again .....August 1 - 30

More information to follow

open Wednesday to Sunday 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Be sure to drop by and start your adventure!

07/01/2026

Happy Canada Day 🇨🇦

Drop in at the Lac du Bonnet District Museum today... open 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Come and meet our summer student Hudson Stewart.

05/23/2026

L SE 18 - 15 – 11 E 280 Smith Road

On Treaty 1, in the Unorganized Territory of Powassin, John Duncan McArthur donated land prior to 1910 for Lac du Bonnet ‘s first cemetery.

Alex McIntosh and his son Ramsey McIntosh donated more farmland over the years as the cemetery grew in size.

Oral history has Lac du Bonnet’s earliest settlers interred along the CPR tracks which ran parallel to todays Smith Road. This can be partially substantiated from the RM of Lac du Bonnet Minutes of May 7, 1918.

A motion was carried “to authorize Secretary W.D.Halliday to apply to a King’s Bench Judge for permission to remove graves found on the road allowance acquired by the RM through Sec 18 – 15 - 11 - East,”

We wonder if the RM public works department had to do the excavating and reburials?

The earliest burials and many graves with unmarked metal crosses appear in the southern portion of the cemetery parallel to the roadway and may be the ones moved from along the railway tracks and road allowance.

The oldest marked burials in Lac du Bonnet Cemetery are the young children of Robert and Martha Hadley, Archie -June 8, 1907 aged 13 months, Olive – June 12, 1907 aged 7 years and Gladys -June 13, 1907 aged 3 years. The children died in Lac du Bonnet from the Diphtheria epidemic (pg 223 Logs & Lines of the Winnipeg River)

The Lac du Bonnet Cemetery transcriptions (1995) can be obtained by contacting the Manitoba Genealogical Society Inc.

photos credit to Lac du Bonnet District Museum

The Museum is open for the season
with Terry offering personal tours…

May & June
Saturday & Sunday 12:00 - 4:00

July & August
Wednesday - Sunday 10:00 - 4:00

Wild Rice is for sale
Certified long grain 1lb. Bag $12.00
Limited supply
LdBDHS Membership holders $10.00 / bag

05/16/2026

Museum is open for the season

May & June
Saturdays & Sundays
12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Long grain certified organic Wild Rice for sale !!!

05/14/2026

03/14/2026

Brightstone Co-op

Congratulations to Beausejour Co-op and their 75th anniversary (The LdB Clipper March 12, 2026 pg. 3) !

The Ukrainian community of Brightstone, a few miles west of Lac du Bonnet opened it’s “Brightstone Co-op “ in 1938. It was incorporated and shares cost $10.00.

The Brightstone Co-op operated until 1968. It originally had a Bowser gas pump and general store but the gas pump was discontinued by the 1950s.

The Brightstone Co -op store was located on the north side of PR 317 between Sytnick Road and Okrainec Road. Some concrete footings pushed into the bush are all that remain today.

Lac du Bonnet’s renowned artist, Robert Kost, painted at least two paintings of the Brightstone Co-op Store.

The image of the painting shown is courtesy of Anthony Kost.

It also appears on the front inside cover of our local history book “Logs & Lines from the Winnipeg River “

Photo of artwork: Anthony Kost
bw photos courtesy of: Adeline Wazny
Certificate: Ernie Okrainec

02/23/2026

Insul Brick

Insul Brick (insul – brick) asphalt based siding was popular from the 1930’s through the 1960’s. It mimics the look of brick. Insul brick was designed to provide a low cost insulation value and low cost exterior protection.

Popular colors were red, brown and grey in a faux brick pattern. The product has lasted over 60 years on homes, garages, churches and other buildings. Insul Brick was manufactured in Winnipeg by Building Products Limited.

Lac du Bonnet’s historic Lee River Hall (red), Lagsdin Hall (grey) St Anthony Petchersky Ukrainian Catholic Church and St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church (grey) are covered with insul brick

photo credits:

Terry Tottle
Sid Stine
RM of Lac du Bonnet
Clarence Worona