The Valleys and Vistas story begins 12,000 years ago when the earliest indigenous peoples arrived after the Ice Age glaciers had melted away. The Valleys and Vistas region was occupied by aboriginal hunters and gatherers whose movements were governed by the seasonal movement and availability of plants and animals. Families would move onto the plains in the spring to hunt migratory waterfowl and the elk and bison that emerged after winter had faded away. Assiniboine, Cree, Qibwa, and Sioux people populated the area. In the fall, the game would take shelter in the Sandhills to the south and in the Parkland area to the north.

Their history is one of true human adaptation and innovation. Fine tools were fashioned from copper and, ultimately, the invention of the bow and arrow truly revolutionized hunting. Their need for mobility to follow the game that provided their livelihoods meant that the easy transportation and erection of the tipi was paramount. The tipi provided durable shelter that could be easily transported as entire communities followed the migration of their game.

With the arrival of European fur traders in the 1700's, business was brisk along the Assiniboine River to the south. The Northwest Company operated a trading post called Fort des Pines or Pine House on the north bank of the Assiniboine River upstream from the Junction of the Epinette Creek in what is now called Sprucewoods Provincial Park. The Pine Fort became central to half the Assiniboine Trade and became a trade goods distribution centre for the Northwest Company's forts along the Upper Assiniboine, Qu'Appelle, Shell and Swan Rivers. 

The Pine Fort was abandoned in 1811 and was later destroyed by fire. Today visitors to the Sprucewoods Provincial Park can visit the Pine Fort IV, which was built in honour of the original Pine Fort.

History Comes to Life

Picture yourself over 125 years ago, making the arduous journey by horse-drawn cart, over miles of rough trail in search of land. Imagine battling the elements, perhaps children in tow, lured by the promise of 160 acres to call your own. Such was the scenario when the Valleys and Vistas area was settled by the first European settlers from Eastern Canada. The arrival of the railway in the late 1880's marked a period of rapid growth in the area, and the communities of Carberry, Neepawa, and Minnedosa were born.

Immerse yourself in these Pioneer times by visiting one of our many local Museums. The Carberry Plains Museum features displays from our many famous former residents such as Wop May WWI pilot, Tommy Douglas and Stanley Knowles. View paintings from the Criddle family and learn more about this eccentric homesteading family. Visit our Gingerbread House and marvel at its unique and fanciful architecture and breath-taking gardens.

If you love nature, Carberry is also home to the Seton Centre, exhibiting the books, artwork and memorabilia of our renowned naturalist, Earnest Thompson Seton. Visitors from across the globe have traveled to our Seton Centre to learn more about this intriguing man and the formative years spent here in the Carberry Sandhills.

Visit Historic Downtown Carberry and let our turn-of-the-century architecture take you back to life on the Prairies over 100 years ago.

A short drive north of Carberry on Highway #5 takes you to Neepawa, home of the Beautiful Plains Museum, located in the historic former CN station. Three floors of artifacts feature a chapel, barbershop, general store and more. 

For the avid reader, visit Neepawa's Margaret Laurence Home, childhood home of the renowned novelist Margaret Laurence.  This Provincial Heritage site houses many personal artifacts including Margaret's doctoral robes, typewriter and original furnishings. 

Visit Neepawa Cemetery and see the Stone Angel and the Hickman Grave or wander about and marvel at our turn-of-the-century architecture. While in Neepawa, take in one of today's top movies in the 100-year old Roxy Theatre, where history and culture come together in this Prairie setting. 

West of Neepawa on Highway #16 beckons Minnedosa, home to Heritage Village. Within the village walls, visitors can truly touch and feel Pioneer life in an authentic country church, furnished heritage home, rural school house, blacksmith shop, log barn, windmill, trappers cabin, water wheel and trout pond.

While in Minnedosa, check out the Bison Compound and Oxbow Nature Trail and let your imagination wander back in time when hundreds of thousands of these majestic creatures roamed the prairies.

Enjoy our stone building walking tour and marvel at the fieldstone buildings scattered throught our picturesque community.