Museum Events
Since we’re still in the midst of building out our new public brand, we are unable to share any new upcoming event details at this time. So, please stay tuned, as we will be releasing new details on this page very soon!
For now, please add the following events to your calendar …
✅ CUTHBERT GRANT DAY
✅ PIONEER DAY
Cuthbert Grant day is the second Saturday in July, and Pioneer Day is the second Saturday in August. Both with interactive Métis and pioneer themed displays and tours.
We hope to see you there!
Annually on the second Saturday of every July we celebrate the life of Cuthbert Grant, who died on this very day 160+ years ago, after making countless contributions for the Métis people and Red River Settlement.
Cuthbert Grant, Métis leader, is best known for the Victory of Frog Plain, where he (along with his men) fought for their historic trading rights against Governor Robert Semple and the Hudson’s Bay Company. Grant stood up for his people and against the colonial oppression the Métis Nation faced. After the battle, Grant flew the flag of the Métis Nation, declaring la nouvelle nation (the new nation). Grant also established a Métis community located west of the Red River Settlement on the Assiniboine River. This community was initially named Grantown.
Wheat was an important food source for the community, so Grant built a mill (Grant’s Old Mill) to grind wheat into flour. It was the first watermill west of the Great Lakes. Today, our mill is a replica of Cuthbert Grant’s original mill — which sits on Sturgeon Creek here in Winnipeg.
Annually on the second Saturday of every August we celebrate the life of Cuthbert Grant who made countless contributions for the Métis people (and culture) and Red River Settlement, with a BBQ picnic.
During Pioneer Day here at the Mill, you will get to learn more about the history of the fur trade as well as see a working replica of Cuthbert Grant’s original water-powered mill. By 1825 wheat was becoming an important food crop and although there were several windmills in operation in the area, Cuthbert Grant was the first to undertake the construction of a watermill. His mill was completed on Sturgeon Creek in 1829. While the exact location is not known, it is probable that it was close to where the Portage Trail crossed the creek; and it is altogether likely that the dam was used as a bridge for crossing the creek during the season of high water. Unfortunately the dam proved unequal to the spring floods and for three successive years it was washed out. Grant finally abandoned the site and moved his machinery to Grantown where he constructed a successful windmill. Today, our mill is a replica of Cuthbert Grant’s original mill — which sits on Sturgeon Creek here in Winnipeg.
Grant's Old Mill Museum is located at 2777 Portage Avenue in Winnipeg Manitoba on the banks of Sturgeon Creek (kitty corner to Booth Drive).
We operate a water-powered mill using mill stones to demonstrate how wheat was ground into flour in the mid 1800’s. Wheat was an important food source for the community and a mill was required to grind the wheat into flour. There were already several windmills in the area, but Cuthbert Grant built the first water-powered mill west of the Great Lakes. It was completed in 1829 and located on the banks of Sturgeon Creek in Winnipeg. This mill is a replica of one built by Cutherbert Grant in 1829 — to help feed his Métis people and was considered the first water powered mill in Western Canada. It is made of one-foot thick tamarack logs that came from the Whiteshell and its stones from the quarries at Garson.
We also share the stories of Cuthbert Grant (1793 to 1854) in regards to the fur trade and the fur trade wars. He was considered to be the first leader of the Métis Nation here in Manitoba.
The mill is open to the public and provides a real life glimpse of a working water-powered flour mill.
The staff are friendly and knowledgeable and the area surrounding Grant’s Old Mill is perfect for picnics or an afternoon lounging in the sunshine.
What's Coming
Grant’s Old Mill is sorely in need of a structural repair thanks to 50+ years of aging and environmental wear and tear. It’s been recently assessed by a structural engineering company as well as a log building specialist from Parks Canada and the City is now creating a plan on how to properly restore the building.
It’s important due to it’s historical significance, marking not only Manitoba’s shift from a hunting and trapping economy to an agricultural one, but also highlights a vital time in the Métis Nation’s history. There are a lot of stories embedded in this building’s history, it’s a landmark we want to keep intact, and one that we can share with people … to bring more light to what life was like in those days.
There are few if any monuments to honour the part played by the Métis people in the early days of the Red River settlement. In Grant’s mill, we have perhaps the most appropriate form of memorial that could have been devised. It marks not only the initiative of a pioneer leader but might well be distinguished as the beginning of industrial enterprise in the colony.
We will be sharing more details with the public as soon as the restoration plan ramps up. So, stay tuned here (and on our social spaces) for more details.
"Together, we can do so much ... Community events create strong communities, and a strong community is a healthy community. A healthy community is a happy community."
— Reg Sims, President, St. James Assiniboia Pioneer Association
HISTORY
Through our local events, we want to empower Winnipegers through community building by helping them learn more about the events in history that created this great city.
RESOURCES
Visit us on Facebook or Instagram, or join our Facebook group.
City of Winnipeg; Manitoba Museums
Clan Grant Societies:
UK Society | Canadian Society
Grant’s Old Mill is located on Treaty 1 territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dene, and Dakota Peoples, and the homeland of the Métis Nation.