250 Manitoba Avenue
The Dominion Government built the post office in 1907 on the corner of Main Street and Manitoba Avenue, despite debate over its prospective location. The building housed various government organizations until the post office moved locations in 1957. The building then deteriorated until the Selkirk Community Arts Centre purchased and restored the structure in 1984 for use as an Arts Centre and Gallery.
In 1904, the Selkirk Board of Trade requested the Dominion Government construct a post office in Selkirk. Up until this point, mail was managed by James Colcleugh in his drug store on Eveline Street, which was later purchased and continued by Richard Henry Gilhuly at the renamed, Gilhuly’s Drug Store. Selkirk was a booming town with rapidly growing shipping, fishing, and farming industries. The railway was expanding also, which meant the mail system needed to improve to keep up with the demand.
Debate and Disagreement
Debate quickly sparked over the location of the new building site. Eveline Street businessmen naturally favoured a post office near the corner of Manitoba Avenue and Eveline Street, whereas businessmen further west favoured a location closer to them on the corner of Manitoba and Main. The heated debate over a one block difference was made clear at a board meeting in 1906, where 19 out of 23 members voted for the Eveline Street location, stating that “any site selected on Main Street would be too far removed from the business centre and unsuitable and inconvenient.”
Despite anyone’s feelings, the Dominion Government overlooked the vote and selected the Main Street location, perhaps forecasting the future hub of business that would come decades later.
Mayor J. K. McKenzie sold the lot to the Dominion Government for $50. The plans were drawn up by the architectural firm, James Chisholm and Son, and Brown and Garson Construction began construction in 1907.
Postmasters
Richard Gilhuly continued postmaster duties at the new building. He retired in 1935 after serving as postmaster for 45 years between the two locations. After Richard Gilhuly left the position, Jean Smith filled in as postmistress for a year until Lewis G. Howard took over from 1936-1955. Roy Foulkes was the last postmaster to work at the Old Post Office before he completed his term at the present location at 356 Main Street.
Along with the post office and customs house, the second floor of the building was home to offices for the local police department and the Department of Indian Affairs. Later on, the Fisheries Department also worked out of offices on the second floor.
Deterioration and Recovery
The bustling hub of activity that was known in the building for fifty years ended abruptly when the new post office was built on Main Street in 1957. The Old Post Office stood vacant for a few years until businessmen purchased and renovated the space into individual rooms for rent. Due to vandalism and neglect, the building was no longer fit for habitation in 1979. It was left vacant again, this time with broken, boarded-up windows, and graffiti. In 1984, the Selkirk Community Arts Centre Incorporated acquired the building and embarked on a multi-year restoration project. It serves the community today as a thriving art gallery.
Old Post Office Collection
Click on images to enlarge
Post Office Selkirk, 1909, Public Archives Canada
Sources
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Dominion Post Office and Customs Building (406 Main Street, Selkirk), Manitoba Historical Society
Selkirk the First Hundred Years, Barry Potyondi
A Walkers Guide to the Historic Buildings of Selkirk, 1996
Selkirk Journal, 1990, 1991
The Selkirk Community Arts Centre History
