The museum's Settler's Village expanded by two buildings last year, and they hope to complete them by the end of summer 2026. (Image Credit: File photo/northeastNOW)

By Cam Lee

Settler's Village expanding

Melfort and District Museum prepares for busy season

Mar 18, 2026 | 3:00 PM

It’s a busy time at the Melfort and District Museum, despite there still being snow on the ground. 

Preparations are underway for a busy spring and summer ahead. 

Curator Brenda Mellon said their first order of business will be to take down the Christmas decorations from the Christmas village once the snow begins to melt. Once that is completed, the prep work begins ahead of their busiest time of year. 

“Our volunteers are going to be busy preparing our two new buildings that we brought in this past spring, and they’ll be finishing the interiors of those buildings that will be used as a newspaper office, a telephone office, and a bank,” Mellon told northeastNOW. 

The museum boasts over 44,000 items in their collection, and there are still many that are in storage without a place to put them. Mellon said having those new buildings will allow the museum to display those items for public viewing. 

Settler's Village expanding

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Many of the items have been donated over the years by area residents. Mellon, who has been curator for the past two years, said the items are often sentimental in nature. The museum also benefits, as residents looking to downsize or move, and want their items to go to a good home. 

The Melfort and District Museum’s expansion project also continues, as they take advantage of land donated to them by the Melfort Ag Society to expand their Settler’s Village. 

“Over the course of the last couple of years, we’ve extended into that new area,” said Mellon. “We’ve moved in the two new buildings last year; we did a lot of preparation.”  

The Museum is fundraising to bring in additional buildings to further build their Settler’s Village. This year, Mellon said their main goal is finishing the two buildings brought in last year. They hope to finish that by the end of the summer, then look forward to the next step in their expansion. 

Mellon said they’re always looking for volunteers at the museum, and they have many different skills that are needed, including machinery restoration, researchers, data entry, and working on the new buildings.  

The museum will host several different events throughout the summer, including Indigenous People’s Day events June 18, in partnership with Reconciliation Melfort and the North East School Division. They will once again host the Canada Day event July 1, and there will be Fair Days later in July, and volunteers are needed for all those events. 

Summer students will start working on tours when they begin in early May. You can still apply to be a summer student at the museum, and they will do guided tours throughout the summer, along with Time Warp programming for children this summer. 

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cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com