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Manitoba Town Statues
Across Canada many towns have erected oversized statues depicting what they believe to be an identifying mark of their town. Some of them
are quite obvious, perhaps a statue symbolizing a local product or historical event. Some are down right bizzare. They hope that
tourists will stop by and take photos of these unusual homages. Manitoba is no different. In my travels around the province I've
come across several of these statues and will feature them on this page. If I miss any from your town please send me an email letting me
know and I'll make sure to stop by in my future travels. |
| Altona - Van Gogh's Sunflowers |
| Altona is the Sunflower Capital of Canada and is part of a larger
international art project that will see seven easels erected around the world. The easel is 80 feet high.
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| The Arborg Curling Rock.
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| The crocus is the floral emblem of Manitoba and Arden has a Crocus festival each year.
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| Ashern - Sharptail Grouse |
| For 25 years Ashern hosted the International 'One-Box Sharptail Hunt'
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| Austin - 1910 25-75 Case Steam Engine |
| "The engine was purchased in 1911 and operated in the Green Bluff School District in the R.M. of
Strathclair. From 1911 to 1929 it did custom threshing but due to poor crops caused by rust, Mr. McMurachy was unable to meet his
financial commitment and in 1937 he moved to the McConnell District. In 1935 this engine and a 40-60 Case Thresher harvested the
McMurachy wheat from which Selkirk wheat was developed."
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| "Tommy the Turtle"
"To create the importance of the Turtle Derby as an International event"
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| Erected to commemorate Canada's Centennial
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| "The Fish"
"This is an original size re-production of Manitoba's biggest sturgeon.
Weight - 406 lbs. Length - 15 1/2 ft. Age - 150 years. A femaile full of caviar. This record sturgeon was taken out of the Roseau River east
of Dominion City by Sandy Waddell, October 27, 1903. Hauled home in a seven foot Democrat by a team of horses, five feet of this monster still
trailed the ground."
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| "Cabrea"
"In celebration of the Year 2000, the Dunrea Flea Market Committee has erected this snow goose sculpture. This sculpture recognizes our geographic location in the central North American Geese Flyway. These geese have been known to migrate through this area since the late 1880's. The hardy snow geese are the most numerous among all breeds that migrate through this area."
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| "World's Largest Fire Hydrant"
Built over the course of seven months by volunteer fire fighters and completed in July, 2001
the fire hydrant in nearly 30 feet tall. You can compare the size of the fire hyrant with an actual one right in front of it.
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| "The March West"
"In remembrance of the 300 members of the newly formed North West
Mounted Police who set out on their famous march west from nearby Fort Dufferin on the 8 July 1874 to bring law and order to the western
Canadian frontier."
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| Erected to commemorate the Scandinavian heritage of the area.
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| Gilbert Plains - Golf Ball |
| "Gilbert" - the community mascot.
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| The viking was chosen to commemorate the area's large Icelandic population.
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| Gladstone - The Happy Rock |
| Happy Rock = Gladstone
Get it?
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| "Sara"
"This camel is emblematic of Manitoba's only desert"
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| The Windmill at Holland Windmill Park
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| "Sam and Sara"
The statue was constructed to make people aware of the Narcisse Snake Dens nearby.
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| This statue serves as a weather vane.
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| La Broquerie is the largest milk producing centre in Manitoba.
The Cow was built for the Parish of La Broquerie's Centennial in 1983.
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| "Tom the Turkey"
La Riviere was the first area in Manitoba that the wild turkey was introduced
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| "The giant Canada goose, symbol of our community, which was brought back from near extinction, through the foresight of Mr. W.A. Murphy & Associates."
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| Built for the 1979 Canada Winter Games
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| "These three mushrooms that form the statue is the logo for the Meleb-Park-Cumming
School Reunion Committee. Mushrooms conjure up many happy memories of picking, cooking, eating; of family and friends; and somehow always
Babas in the background comforting, sheltering, nourishing as in childhood. People of all ages enjoy scouring
the Meleb woods for mushrooms."
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| Minnedosa - Canvasback Duck |
| This statue was a Millenium project. The area around Minnedosa is a summer breeding ground for
the Canvasback.
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| The Purple Martin Capital
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| Dedicated to pioneers who used the natural oak and materials to repair their carts on their journey to points west during the late 1800's.
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| "The Onanole Elk Steering Committee of 1996 in
cooperation with the Province of Manitoba and private donors dedicate this elk roadside park to the
pioneers and residents of Onanole."
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| "Home of the Mallard Duck"
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| The Pinawa Sundial
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| "This sculpture was placed on its pedestal in the year 1991 paying
tribute to a magnificent resourceful animal, the White Tailed Deer, that lives and thrives among us all today.
It provided sustenance to the pioneers during hard times, then recreational sport for the hunters of today.
Therefore, let us strive to protect this animal for future generations. Great community participation, support,
and donations from people and businesses near and far have made it possible to erect this monument in all its majesty."
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| Portage La Prairie - Coca-Cola Can |
| "The World's Largest Coca-Cola Can"
It was originally constructed from an old water tower.
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| "Edgar Van Wyck has been hailed as the "Pumpkin King of Roland" in
recognition of the ten first place records at the Royal Winter Fair and attaining the Manitoba records in 1984 and
1988. In 1976, his 423 pound pumpkin earned him a page in the Guiness Book of Records, but it was in 1986 that he grew
his giant squash of 560 pounds. We commemorate this pumpkin replica in his honour".
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| "Roseisle received its name in the early 1890's by settlers Mr. and Mrs.
A. Beggs. Struck by the beauty of a small rose-covered 'isle' rising out of the water after a big rain, the Beggs decided
Roseisle was an appropriate name for the area. The name stuck and later was adopted for the town when the railway came
through in 1901".
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| "Landed in Selkirk May 1986 "Chuck the Channel Cat" Dedicated to
good sport and good fishing".
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| St. Claude - Tobacco Pipe |
| "The World's Largest Smoking Pipe"
"Some of the first settlers arriving in this
region in 1892 were from the city of St. Claude in the province of Jura, France. The main industry of this city in France was the
manufacturing of smoking pipes. This 'pipe' was promoted and funded by the St. Claude Chamber of Commerce".
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| St. Francois Xavier - White Horse |
| "A Sioux Indian chief wished to marry the beautiful daughter of an Assiniboine chief. The
Assiniboine, however, gave his daughter's hand to a Cree chief with whom she was in love because the Cree offered a rare snow white horse as
a gift. The angry Soiux pursued the Cree and his bride whose father had returned the horse to help them escape. The Sioux killed them both
but the horse escaped. For years it was seen roaming the surrounding plain and in memory of the young lovers this part of Manitoba became known
as White Horse Plain."
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| St. Malo - White-Tailed Deer |
| "Unveiled by His Royal Highness The Prince
Edward - July 7, 1990 - to commemorate the only successful deer relocation program in Canada"
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| "This symbolic spinning wheel has been erected by the residents of Sifton to honor Willard McPhedrain, the founder
of Mary Maxim Ltd. What began as a tiny Sifton company, with a small staff of friends and neighbors in the late
1940's, has become the largest international mail order company. By the late 1950's Mary Maxim had become a household name with knitters across Canada."
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| The Automoblie City
"Symbolizing Steinbach's distinction as the automobile city is this 1931 Classic Rolls Royce Roadster, about double the size of the original,
it is 40 feet in length, 12 feet in width, and 11 1/2 feet in height."
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| In commemoration of the oil industry in Western Manitoba.
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| Winnipeg Beach - Totem Pole |
| "Here stands a tribute to the aboriginal people of Manitoba.
What was once a 6 foot thick, 30 foot cedar log from Campbell River, British Columbia now stands as a symbol of
brotherhood in Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba. This creation, by wood carver, Peter "Wolf" Toth, began on Canada Day,
July 1, 1991 and was ceremoniously unveiled on September 1, 1991.This is the 67th carving in a long trail of
Whispering Giants that started in 1970 and now reaches throughout most of North America. In creator Peter "Wolf"
Toth's Words, "My monuments are made to remind people of the contributions of the Indians of this country -
statues to honor the plight of the native peoples of North America"
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| South of Woodlands on Highway #6 - Big Chair |
| The chair sits in a farmers field right by the highway south of Woodlands on Highway #6.
Driving by you can often see people posing on the chair and taking photos.
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