It’s not every day you see an ocean-going ship beached in the middle of the Prairies, but that’s what you’ll find when you visit the Sukanen Ship Pioneer Village and Museum.
The village — located 13 kilometres south of Moose Jaw — has been in operation on a 40-acre site since 1969, with the goal of promoting the area’s early pioneer history and showcasing the buildings and equipment pioneers used from the 1890s to 1930s.
Volunteers moved the Sukanen Ship there in 1974 to recognize the work of Finnish pioneer Tom Sukanen, who built the vessel by hand with tools he made. His body was re-buried next to his vessel and the museum was renamed in honour of him.
As the story goes, Sukanen was unable to move his ship up the Saskatchewan River, float it sideways through shallow areas, then sail up the Churchill River to Hudson Bay and onward to Finland. Neighbours in the Finnish communities of Lucky Lake Macrorie reported him to police and Mounties took him to the insane asylum in North Battleford, where he later died.
Since the museum’s founding more than 50 years ago, it has grown to include 40 buildings and more than 200 cars, trucks and tractors. Some highlights include a 1913 grain elevator, former prime minister John Diefenbaker’s homestead, a fire hall, tractor collections, and replica International Harvester Company dealership and machinery collection.
The village streets feature a church, one-room schoolhouse, general store, hardware store, blacksmith shop, municipal office, service station, newspaper/print shop, CN railway station, pharmacy and carriage house.
A farm barn and seven vintage houses form a collection that includes an 1890s ranch house, two pioneer shacks and one-and-a-half storey farmhouse. It also includes buildings from former prime minister John Deifenbaker’s homestead.
Sukanen Village is located south of Moose Jaw on Highway 2 and is normally open seven days a week from May 10 to Sept. 11. Hours are usually 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Monday to Saturday and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.
Upcoming activities for 2023:
- Outdoor flea market and swap, Sunday, June 25, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Family Day, Sunday, July 16
- Threshing Bee, Saturday, Sept. 9 and Sunday, Sept. 10: This weekend usually involves pancake breakfasts, a vintage vehicle parade, demonstrations of hand threshing, fanning wheat, ploughing, old-time threshing, a vintage tractor pull, Saturday nice dance party, Sunday church service
Call 306-630-5727 or 306-693-7315 or visit sukanenshipmuseum.ca for more information.
