Telegraph Office in 1909
Telegraph Office, 1909

Willow Bunch
Telegraph Office
Restoration Project
Property History
Helping to preserve the history of Willow Bunch

  

The following is the history Willow Bunch Telegraph Office property. This information, unless otherwise noted, was extracted from the Willow Bunch Historical Sites & Buildings - 2005 book which can be purchased from the Willow Bunch Town Office or Museum.

Like the restoration work on the property, this is a work in progress. If you have any additional details on the history Willow Bunch Telegraph Office property or know of anyone who might have additional details or perhaps a telegram or two sent of received through the Telegraph Office please Contact Us.

  • Early 1900s - House was built by Jean-Louis Légaré.
  • Spring 1904 - House began serving as the Telegraph Office with Marc Aurèle Noël as operator. The telegraph line ran from Willow Bunch to Moose Jaw via Wood Mountain as shown in the early Saskatchewan map.
  • 1909 - House was moved to its current location on Main Street (now called Edouard Beaupre Street). Several photos from this time period are available in the the photo gallery.
  • Oct 22, 1912 - Marc Noël married Grazialla St. Laurent. Together they raise eight childeren in the house.
  • Nov 1918 - During the demolition of the lean-to in October 2007, it was discovered that the lean-to was built in two stages. The Willow Bunch Historical Sites & Buildings - 2005 book indicates there was only one expansion, however evidence uncovered during the demolition clearly showed that the half of the lean-to close to the main structure was much older than the other half. It was lined with lath and plaster, whereas the other half was not. News papers from November 1918 (3 different days) were also found benneath the floor boards suggesting that is when the first addition was built. Further demolish of the lean-to revealed that the roof on this first addition was a ridged structure with a peak running perpendicular to the peak on the main house. This roof was apparently removed when the building was expaned in the 1950s.
  • 1931 - Marc Aurèle Noël was transferred to Notikewin, Alberta, bringing the building's life as the Telegraph Office to an end.
  • 1932 - Grazialla Noël and the rest of the family joined Marc in Alberta.
  • After 1932 - Alexandre P. Beausoleil is presumed to have owned the property. It served as his private home and also filled in as the Village Office. During the clean up and demolition in the small porch on the back side of the house in October 2007 a few boxes were found with Alexandre P. Beausoleil's name on them. One even had a Canadian Pacific Express shipping label dated May 30, 1941.
  • Sep 18, 1942 - The building began its long term as the area's first Credit Union with Alexandre P. Beausoleil as the first manager.
  • Mid 1950s - The lean-to was enlarged to the west and a safe was added.
  • Sep 17, 1960 - A small fire took place and the building received considerable smoke damage. The Credit Union vacated the premises as a result. Evidence found during the demolition in October 2007 suggests the fire and smoke damage was confined to the lean-to.
  • Later in 1960 - The property was bought by Marcel and Anna Mondor. They used the main part as their home. Anna had a small office in the lean-to (north east corner) for Mondor Agencies (a SGI franchise). The rest of the lean-to was converted into a suite. The first tenant in the suite was Marcel's dad, Philippe Mondor. Philippe occupied the suite until 1968. During this period the building's facade was covered in an imitation brick siding as shown in the photo gallery.
  • 1977 - Anna's dad, Paul Weismiller, was the last tenant in the suite. He occupied it until 1980.
  • 1981 - The house and business was sold to Daniel and Jeannette Mondor. They converted the lean-to into office space.
  • 1987 - The house and business was sold to Robert and Jocelyne Therrien. The business was renamed to Therrien Agencies.
  • Oct 19, 1991 - The SGI business was moved across the street to the old CIBC building.
  • Fall of 1995 - Robert and family moved to Regina. The house was left vacant.
  • Apr 1997 - The property was sold to Scott Moffet of British Columbia. He only spent a few months in it before giving the property back to Robert Therrien.
  • May 1998 - The property was sold to Robert Campbell of Alberta but he never occupied it.
  • Aug 14, 2007 - Town of Willow Bunch acquires property for tax enforcemnet purposes.
  • Sep 7, 2007 - Property for sale by tender.
  • Oct 2, 2007 - Property purchased by Allan Charles Mondor.
  • Oct 10, 2007 - Restoration work began.