Brooks & District Museum

Brooks & District Museum Exhibits

1903 National Cable Tool Rig

1903 National #3 Cable Tool Rig

This rig was purchased new by the Ohio Oil
Company and shipped by train from Chicago to Montana and assembled in 1923. The rig worked in Northern Montana until the early 1950s when it was replaced by faster rotary equipment. It sat idle for years and was eventually bought at an auction in 1989. It was moved to Brooks and set up at the Museum in 1998.

The rig when operating was capable of drilling and handling casing to about 2500 feet of depth though most wells where it worked were shallower than that. The rig would drill about 100 feet per day whereas today’s rotary rigs can drill 100-300 feet per hour.

Original Volunteer Fire Department Truck

This 1941 Ford fire engine was the primary truck in Brooks between 1949 and 1958 when a second truck was acquired. It was actively used until the early 1960s and then served as a back-up until it was retired in 1988.

Brooks purchased this truck from the Suffield Army Base where it was used as an aircraft rescue and fire vehicle during WWII Commonwealth air training. The vehicle’s top speed was 30 miles per hour. An old joke around the fire station was that a guy could roll a cigarette while driving at top speed.

Kitchener School

Originally Kitchener School, this building was built in 1911 on George Kisner land east of Berry Creek. It was moved to Wardlow where it was in operation from 1930 to 1940, and after being closed for several years it was again in use from 1955 to 1961. It also served as a community hall for a few years. The school building was moved to the museum in 1978.

Steveville General Store

Browse through our exhibit of a local store from the early part of the century. Based on the Steveville General Store of 1910, the store houses a collection of goods that may have been found while shopping in the early 1900s including post office boxes, a cash register, and various groceries. Steveville was named after Steve Hall who homesteaded in the area. He and his wife, Edith, ran the ferry, the first post office and store as well as the boarding house there.

Spinning Wheel & Weaving Loom

The spinning wheel and weaving loom are on
display in the Handicrafts exhibit in the main
building of the museum. The spinning wheel was donated in 1985 by Don and Mary Ann MacIntyre. It was built by hand around the beginning of the 20th Century. The weaving loom was donated by Helen Hargrave and was originally from the University of Alberta in Edmonton. It was purchased by Mrs. Hargrave when the University changed to a different type of loom in the mid-1950s.

NWMP Parvella Detachment

The log cabin was an outpost for the Northwest Mounted Police. It was built in 1912 on the V-V Ranch at the mouth of the Blood Indian Creek. The post was in operation until 1916 and was moved to its present site in 1978. The outpost from Parvella was donated to the museum by the Pincher Creek Cattle Ranchers’ Association. The cabins were built 25 miles from a settlement because this was the distance it was felt a Mountie’s horse could travel in one day.

CP Railway Caboose

The caboose was acquired in the summer of 1995. With the efforts of Hi-Boy Oilfield and Jo-Ann Trucking, the caboose made it to the museum safe and sound. The 57,000 lbs. caboose had to be dismantled from its wheels and hauled to the museum on a flatbed. The C.P.R. line passed through Brooks as early as 1883, when Brooks was just a stop on the line. The C.P.R. was responsible for installing the first irrigation systems in the area. They were also primarily responsible for attracting settlers to the area which is now Brooks and District.

The Duchess CPR Station

This station served the Village of Duchess from 1920 until 1965. The living quarters were added on in 1943. The station was moved to the present site at the museum in 1984 and underwent extensive repair and restoration. The building houses artifacts pertaining to the railway industry.

Dentist's Office

The dentist chair that is on display in the main
building of the museum was manufactured in
New York in the late 1940s. It was used by Dr. C.T. McCune, a local dentist from 1950 until he retired in 1988. His dental equipment is also on display with other medical artifacts such as optometry equipment and the belongings of a country doctor from Wardlow, Alberta, Dr. W.G. Anderson (Doc).

The Alberts' House

The Alberts’ house was moved to its present
location on the grounds of Brooks and
District Museum on September 14th, 1977. It was donated to the museum by the Alberts family of Brooks.

The house was built in 1910, when the Canadian Pacific Railway was planning and surveying for the Eastern Irrigation District. It was used as an office building for the engineers working on the project. It was given the name Siksika to honour the local native community.

Corythosaurus Casvarius

A duck billed dinosaur that lived in the area 75 million years ago in the badlands swamps of the upper cretaceous period, it measured 10 metres and weighed up to three metric tonnes.

Shackleton Barn

This Barn was part of Ken Shackleton's farm just outside of Brooks. Shackleton came to Brooks in 1918 and bought the farm for himself and his family who came in 1919. With the assistance of some neighbors, Ken started the barn in 1941. There was no roof on the barn for a few years, then a straw room was added. In 1945 lumber was brought in and the roof was finished. At the time of completion the barn was painted grey. Later it was painted red, and has since been restored to the original color.

In 1990, the barn was moved to its present site at the museum, with the help of many organizations and volunteers. The barn has been reconstructed to provide both interpretive and display areas. Two stalls remain, one for a horse and one for a cow. The main difference is that the horse's manager is higher to accommodate the animal's height and longer neck.

In the hayloft a hay sling is suspended from the roof. It was used for lifting hay bales through the large door at the front of the loft and could be maneuvered to position the bales. The holes in the floor at the sides allow for hay to be pitched directly into the stalls.

Farm Implements

On display outside.

Blacksmith Shop

The blacksmith shop was given to the museum as a granary around 1986/87. The granary was put on a cement footing and the floor of the granary was taken out. Frank Nester furnished the shop using the equipment belonging to his father, Hugh F. Nester. Hugh Nester came west in late 1908 and opened up a blacksmith shop in Bassano. The horses were shod at the Bassano Dam when it was being built. Frank Nester put on the heavy red doors and helped to recreate this Blacksmith Shop

Seveth Day Adventist Church

The Seventh Day Adventist congregation was organized and the first meeting held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Chris Martin in 1919. Pastor McVaugh of the Canadian SDA Union Headquarters was present. Services were held at a school house until a small church was built. This building was built in 1941. The church on the museum property was donated by the Seventh Day Adventist congregation at Cassils, and was moved to the present location in 1978. This building is now used to house museum materials representing all churches in the area.

Dempster Windmill

The Dempster Windmill was used by the Gem Grazing Association on their lease, to pump water for the cattle. The Windmill was donated by the Gem Grazing Association to the Brooks & District Museum in 2008. A windmill relies on wind power to drive the circular wind vane at the top of the structure which operates a gear box. This powers a crank that is connected to a rod that moves up and down. The rod is attached to a small cylinder in the well that pumps the water to the surface.

Sarah King House

The Sarah King house, originally located at 127 1 Street East was moved to the museum in 2005. The Kings came to Canada fromDumfries,Scotland. Sarah King had been a practical nurse in Dumfries. When she arrived in Brooks, she didn't intend to be a nurse. At the time, Brooks did not have a hospital. This was a great inconvenience to the doctor and pregnant women. Dr. Anderson asked Mrs. King if she wouldconsider taking in expectant mothers. In 1938, Mrs. King agreed to take in maternity cases. In her small, two bedroom house she often had up to six women staying at a time. Approximately 200 babies from the County of Newell were born in this home.