Ritchie Mill 

Our office is located at #301, 10171 Saskatchewan Drive.  The Ritchie Mill Building is the oldest surviving flour mill in the province!  Click here to learn more about the building’s unique history.

Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village is an open air museum that presents early history of east central Alberta through the eyes of its predominantly Ukrainian population.

While the development of east central Alberta was typical of most Western Canada during the early 20th century, the culture it produced was unique. The majority of settlers in east central Alberta at the turn of the century came from present-day Western Ukraine. Soon after their arrival, many aspects of their Ukrainian culture were visible in the physical landscape of east central Alberta, as well as in the general lifestyle of the region. By 1930, while their culture was no longer wholly Ukrainian, it was still distinctive. As the province grew, the Ukrainian immigrants in east central Alberta and their descendants prospered, and achieved a level of success in their new land that seemed unattainable only forty years before. The Ukrainian settlers’ experiences are interpreted in the four zones which make up the site:

• Overview
• Farmstead
• Rural Community
• Town Site

The immigration of Ukrainians to Canada began with the arrival of Iwan Pylypow and Wasyl Eleniak in 1891. They had come to investigate the Canadian government’s offer of homesteads in Western Canada and report back to their fellow villagers. Within five years their first settlement of Ukrainians in Canada was flourishing at Edna, in east central Alberta, and this encouraged others to take their chances and emigrate there as well. Relatives and friends tended to settle together, creating a broad corridor of Ukrainian settlement from Manitoba through Saskatchewan and into Alberta as far as Edmonton. Some of the oldest Ukrainian communities in North America are found in east central Alberta, directly east of Edmonton.

The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, as a whole, never existed in history. The buildings, furnishings, and the inhabitants of the village have been taken from real life in east central Alberta. They have been brought together here to tell a significant story that might otherwise have been lost, using a “living history” approach based on careful research. The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village’s “living history” or “first person” approach to interpretation lets you experience history in a very direct and personal way. Because the costumed staff at the site are “living in the past” in authentically recreated environments, they will speak to you from their perspective of the year 1930 or earlier. Their conversations and activities are based on detailed research and oral history interviews with people who actually live in the area.

Open May long weekend to Labour Day 10am-6pm, daily
Labour Day to Thanksgiving Day 10am-4pm, weekends only
Admission is charged

Visit the Ukranian Cultural Heritage Village Website

*Information from "Ukranian Cultural Heritage Village", Alberta Community Development