Exhibits
— Museum Entrance — Édouard Beaupré — Homestead/Pioneer — Chapel — Family Research — 1st Floor Corridor — 2nd Floor Corridor —
— First Habitants — Tools/Technology — NWMP/RCMP — School room – Hospital room — Homemaker’s room — Sports Display —
The Willow Bunch Museum occupies two floors of the building. It is all wheelchair accessible and an elevator is available to go from floor to floor. On display are collections of local artifacts and history of Willow Bunch and surrounding areas.
There are ten rooms depicting different themes, two corridors with various displays and various displays of organizations and fossil rock display in the basement hall. The entrance into the building is where you can add your name to our donor tree by giving us a donation of $20 or more, where you can pin your home on our visitors maps, or grab free brochures of other places to visit in the area.
The museum entrance welcomes you into a world of past eras, with each room displaying different artifacts that bring back memories of childhood days. Through our exhibits, we chart the course of our community’s development, describing its journey through the decades, enriched by the display of historical artifacts such as tools, clothes and household items. It is always easier to appreciate a place if you know something of its past, and our museum certainly helps to do that.
Browse through the links above or below to see a more detailed description of what each of our rooms and displays have to offer.
Museum Entrance
“Help us Grow our Donor Tree” Buy a leaf and become a “Friend of the Museum” A Special Place for our “Friends of the Museum” with their Generous Acts of Kindness. With appreciation and gratitude to our generous donors for helping preserve the history of our community. Green Leaf – $20 > $199 Bronze Leaf… Continue reading Museum Entrance
Édouard Beaupré
Room #1 – Édouard Beaupré: the Willow Bunch Giant – This room is dedicated to the memory of Édouard Beaupré – our most famous collection, devoted solely to his story. – Come stand beside a life size replica of the Willow Bunch Giant. – Read newspaper articles about the life of the giant and… Continue reading Édouard Beaupré
Homestead/Pioneer
Room #2 – Homestead/Pioneer Room The exhibits date back to the early 1900’s, a time before electricity. The bygone days of listening to music on the gramophone while sitting at the card table playing cribbage brings back feelings of nostalgia or a wistful memory of times that now seem better or simpler. A gramophone,… Continue reading Homestead/Pioneer
1st Floor Corridor
1st Floor Corridor – Read about Charles Skinner, one of the first air ambulance pilots in southern Saskatchewan. – Appreciate the display of woodcarvings created by Leo Holcombe. – View vintage calendars from some past businesses of Willow Bunch. – Notice our old catalogs, hair & shaving paraphernalia, jewelry & glasses which are a few… Continue reading 1st Floor Corridor
Chapel
Room #3 – Chapel This room is the original chapel of the Sacred Heart Convent built in 1914. The displays pay tribute to the Priests and the Sisters of the Cross who served in our parish. The album for the Convent Centennial with all the Sisters of the Cross can be viewed in this… Continue reading Chapel
Family Research
Room #4 – Family Research This room offers research materials for visitors wishing to find family history documentation and/or photos. Local history books, genealogy books of some of Willow Bunch’s families, local parish cemeteries, are among some of the records available. See Genealogy page for a more detailed list.
2nd Floor Corridor
On the right of the second floor corridor are pictures of some of our first Métis settlers in the late 1800’s. On the left are fossils and petrified wood discovered in the area. In the center of the hallway is a display of pottery made with clay from the Midland Clay mine, a pure china… Continue reading 2nd Floor Corridor
First Habitants
Room #5 – First Habitants Room – This room highlights a significant international event in our local and provincial history: Sitting Bull’s last refuge in Canada and his return to the United States from Willow Bunch. – There are displays of our Métis settlers, co-founder Jean Louis Légaré, and Sitting Bull. – This room includes… Continue reading First Habitants
Tools/Technology
Room #6 – Tools & Technology – An assortment of tools and artifacts that highlights the history of our local farming and ranching community are displayed in this room. – Artifacts are from past businesses showing the advancements made in technology over the years with various typewriters, calculators, cameras, etc……. – Also displayed in this… Continue reading Tools/Technology
NWMP/RCMP
Room #6A – NWMP/RCMP – This room is dedicated to the North West Mounted Police and the RCMP. – History of the RCMP includes photos, posters and other information and a map of their historic trek through this area. – The original jail cell used in Willow Bunch occupies a large portion of this… Continue reading NWMP/RCMP
School Room
Room #7 – School Room – This room represents the schools of the past with the teacher in full habit; this habit was worn by the Sisters of the Cross in the earlier years. The Sisters lived and taught in the convent from 1914 to 1983. – Antique desks are setup ready for students, a… Continue reading School Room
Hospital Room
Room #8 – Hospital – In this room are displayed remnants of the Willow Bunch Union Hospital which served the community from 1946 to 1969. – This room includes a baby incubator, metal crib, operating room table with lights, medicines and tools, a bed that was used by boarders in the convent and an antique,… Continue reading Hospital Room
Homemaker’s Room
Room #9 – Homemaker’s Room – Displayed are articles of clothing worn by our ancestors; an 1898 skirt with matching bolero and hat, a 1912 wedding dress and a beautiful display of baptismal gowns, bridesmaid’s dresses, a square dancing men and lady matching assemble, and swimwear from the pioneer days. –… Continue reading Homemaker’s Room