700, 1st Avenue, Beiseker, Alberta
Phone: (403) 947-3774
The Beiseker Station Museum is located in the CPR Train Station at the west end of main street and provides a window into lives of the early settlers of the area. This museum was established on December 21, 1984, after many hours of labour by local volunteers. The majority of the artifacts in the museum were donated by local residents, thus making it a truly authentic local museum. Visitors can come to the museum year-round during Village Office hours. However, a curator is available to give tours during July and August.
The museum is also home to a CPR caboose, donated to the museum in October of 1997, and to the new Sod House created in July 2006.
Preserving History
Beiseker was incorporated as a village in 1921. The first minutes were three pages long, kept in a bound book and hand-written.
The paper minutes were stored in binders in a basement room of the Station, the home of the village office since 1984. As the basement was prone to spring flooding, the binders holding the minutes were susceptible to mould. There was also the ever-present danger of fire as the 1913 Station was built of wood. This was a very real danger as many of the significant buildings in the village had been lost to fire. With this in mind, the Station Museum Society approached the Council asking for permission to safeguard the minutes. The minutes would be scanned onto microfilm and the images would then be digitized and transferred to computer files for public access. The Council agreed to the Society’s proposal and also agreed to fund most of the project. The project began in November 2011 and was completed in July 2013.
The paper minutes have been deposited with the Calgary Glenbow Museum. The microfilms have been deposited with the Glenbow Museum and the Provincial Archives of Alberta Edmonton. The third copy is held by the Village. There are 8,557 images of the Village of Beiseker minutes ranging from 1921 to 2007 for the public to view.
Meeting Minutes Archives
1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929
1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939
1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959
1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969
1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979
1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989
1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
VILLAGE OF BEISEKER MUNICIPAL MUSEUM BOARD
The Museum Board is dedicated to preserving the local history of the Village of Beiseker and the surrounding community. The board is responsible for gathering new artifacts and as a non-profit organization, welcomes historic donations to the Museum. The Museum Board’s past accomplishments include restoring the CPR Train Station in which the Museum now resides as well as restoring the CPR Train Caboose. The Museum Board’s main annual event is the Senior’s Tea which is held in June. Anyone with an interest in preserving our heritage is encouraged to become involved with the Museum Board.
Contact the Village of Beiseker at (403) 947-3774
Website: https://beisekerstationmuseum.wordpress.com