The 10 most endangered structures in Manitoba for 2025

The Manitoba Historical Society has released its 2025 list of most endangered structures in the province. Daniel Halmarson reports.

One of the last homes built from the Red River Settlement, Manitoba’s second oldest grain elevator and a vacant Exchange District building are among the most endangered in the province, according to the Manitoba Historical Society.

The society released its annual list on Wednesday, showcasing 10 buildings and structures that they believe need to be preserved and better known.

Topping the list is the St. Peter Dynevor Anglican Rectory in the RM of St. Andrews, the oldest building on the list.

The home is a provincially designated site and, according to the society, “one of the last remaining stone houses from the Red River Settlement era.” It was built in 1865 as a home for a cleric of the Anglican Church. The society said the building is now vacant, derelict and noticeably deteriorating.

The Peck Building in Winnipeg’s Exchange District was ranked second on the list. The six-storey building was initially built in 1893, but has been vacant for a number of years.

Two farm buildings made the list this year, both showcasing the agricultural history of the province. The scallion granary in the RM of Wallace-Woodworth, which the society says is one of only two surviving examples of a grain storage building from 1893.

The Lake of the Woods grain elevator in Cameron, in the Municipality of Two Borders, is the second-oldest grain elevator in Manitoba and is still at its original site. The society said the continued loss of grain elevators in the Prairies in recent years puts the site at risk.

“Given that grain elevators are an ‘endangered species,’ it is feared that if the land owner grows tired of farming around it, Manitoba’s oldest grain elevator on its original site will be demolished,” the society said.

The church in Lauder rounds out the top five. The society said the building, constructed in 1904, is in good condition with many architectural elements, but noted Lauder has become a virtual ghost town, with four people living year-round in the community.

“The village of Lauder typifies the fate of many small communities in southern Manitoba,” the society said. “Founded by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1891, its population has dwindled with the abandonment of the railway line—the community’s economic and social lifeline—and the subsequent closure of its four grain elevators, school, and stores.”

The remaining structures on the list include a Canadian National Railway Turntable in Dauphin, the Hartney Town Hall building, Hales House in Brandon, the Rover Electric Terminal in Winnipeg and the Union Bank building in Crystal City.