Situated in the R.M. of Whitehead on the Little Saskatchewan River, the 10 Mile Dam was a 14 kilometer transmission line that supplied the city of Brandon with power. The Brandon Electric Light Company built the dam in 1900 and it is considered Manitoba's first hydroelectic power generating station. The dam spanned approximately 80 meters and was constructed from timber and reinforced with clay and stone. The station was decommissioned in 1924.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows 10 Mile Dam, also known as the Brandon Dam or Minnedosa River Hydro Plant.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: "10 mile dam". Biographical information obtained from Manitoba Historical Society.
Situated in the R.M. of Whitehead on the Little Saskatchewan River, the 10 Mile Dam was a 14 kilometer transmission line that supplied the city of Brandon with power. The Brandon Electric Light Company built the dam in 1900 and it is considered Manitoba's first hydroelectic power generating station. The dam spanned approximately 80 meters and was constructed from timber and reinforced with clay and stone. The station was decommissioned in 1924.
Alonzo Archibald Rowe (b. 1862, London, ON; d. 22 Oct 1951, Brandon). The Rowes were considered Brandon area pioneers. Alonzo’s father, Alonzo L. Rowe, came to Brandon with his family in 1881, where the family had a furniture and undertaker business on the west side of 10th Street between Rosser and Princess Avenues. In 1885, the family began farming west of Brandon and Alonzo Archibald served as a councilor and then a reeve in the R.M. of Whitehead. He returned to Brandon in 1907 and served with the Brandon Police Department until 1910, when he returned to farming, this time in Arrow River. A.A. Rowe returned to Brandon in 1915 to work as a Provincial Licenses Inspector, a position he held until 1938. (Source: Obituary, Brandon Daily Sun 22 Oct 1951)
Custodial History
Photograph was in possession of Mrs. Ruby Miles, who passed the image on to Fred McGuinness. McGuinness makes reference to Mrs. Miles and this photograph in his Sunbeams column (Source: F.A. Rosser, "Another interesting chat with a daughter of the plains," Brandon Sun 18 Aug 1981).
Scope and Content
Photograph shows four fishermen at 10 Mile Dam, also known as the Brandon Dam or Minnedosa River Hydro Plant. The fishermen in the photo are identified as George H. Rowe and his father A.A. Rowe, Dr. Wilfred Bigelow, and Al Collins.
Notes
Writing on the back of the photograph reads: at Brandon Dam, [right to left] son and father - George H. ROWE, Mr. A.A. ROWE, Dr. BIGELOW, Al COLLINS (dam?, 1906?, George born March 1897); Jerrett's Photo-Services, May 7 1938.
According to the Brandon Daily Sun (07 May 1913), the first three street cars (Nos. 10, 9, and 7) arrived in Brandon on the evening of May 6, 1913. The cars were shipped via Canadian National Rail to Brandon from Winnipeg and stored at the railway siding on McTavish Avenue between 8th and 9th Streets. The daily paper (15 May 1915) reported that a test run for the street cars was scheduled for May 16, 1913. The City Clerk published a public notice in the paper (29 May 1913) announcing the formal opening of the "Brandon Municipal Street Raily" for on Monday, June 2, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at city hall where the cars would be displayed.
Custodial History
Donated to Fred McGuinness by Allena Strath (nee Coombs).
Scope and Content
Postcard depicts three municipal street cars parked on the 10th Street tracks in front of the Winter Fair Building. In front of the cars are a group of men wearing suits, hats, and top coats. Two automobiles are parked alongside the street cars. According to Archivist Emeritus Tom Mitchell, the group of men are members of the Brandon Municipal Street Railway Committee. The chairman of the committee, Harry Cater, can be seen in the center-left of the group wearing a watch fob. The committee had assembled for a test run of the street car service, which the Brandon Daily Sun reported to have occured on Sunday, May 16, 1913.
Notes
Back of postcard reads: First Street Car in Brandon in front of Winter Fair building 1910.
According to Russ Gourluck (Silver Screens on the Prairie, Winnipeg: Great Plains Publications, 2012, 26), the Orpheum Theatre was in operation from 1917 to 1920 when it then became the Willis Theatre.
Scope and Content
Postcard shows the 100 block of 10th Street facing north. The CPR train station can be seen at the end of 10th Street. The sign for the Rex Cafe is visible on the west side of 10th Street. On the east side of 10th Street, billboards for Campbell & Campbell furniture are visible as well as signs for Pianos and the Orpheum Theatre. Motorists and cyclists share the road. Street car tracks run the length of 10th Street.
Notes
Postcard was manufactured by T.B. [Tichnor Brothers, Inc., 1908-1987] Cambridge, Massachusetts.
