Description of Historic Place

Lot Four Block Four, commonly referred to as the Hamlet of Winter Cairn is a Municipal Heritage Property occupying a 600 square metre parcel of land in the Rural Municipality of Senlac No. 411, approximately 40 kilometres north-east of the Village of Senlac. The property features a commemorative cairn consisting of a brass plaque mounted on a large glacial erratic that was placed on the property in 1986.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of Lot Four Block Four lies in its commemoration of the former Hamlet of Winter. Winter was established in 1908 when the Grand Trunk Railway reached the area. Mansel Cole began operating the first store and post office around 1910. By the 1920s, the first grain elevator had been built and several other businesses, including a lumber yard, were prospering. A railway station was built in 1924. A school operated until 1968 but by the mid-1980s the community had disbanded.

In 1986, the Winter Homecoming Committee placed the Hamlet of Winter Cairn on the property as part of its homecoming celebrations. The cairn, with its plaque that recounts the hamlet's history, is located on a small hill overlooking the former Winter townsite and adjacent to the former railroad right-of-way and next to the "Winter" railway sign.

Source:
Rural Municipality of Senlac No. 411 Bylaw 7-86.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of Lot Four Block Four lies in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that speak to the historic relationship between the property and the former Hamlet of Winter, such as the brass plaque mounted on the glacial erratic, and the placement of the cairn on a hilltop overlooking the former townsite adjacent to the former railroad right-of-way, and next to the "Winter" railway sign.