Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village — Attraction in Pincher Creek

Came from California to visit Calgary friends. We home based in Pincher Creek to visit Waterton. On the last day I walked down and explored this neat little town on my own. The folks at the Lebel Mansion Art Gallery told me to go down and check out the Kootenai Brown historical museum while I was in town. Only had limited time so didn't do the Pioneer Village itself but browsed through the main building and its gift shop. A nice rep explained all about the facility, and I took pictures. Fortunately he had opened early. I'm deeply impressed that rural areas in Alberta (and probably other Canadian provinces and territories) often have arts and historical councils who promote and administer operations such as Koontenai Brown and the Lebel Mansion art gallery. Where I'm from, I'd never expect to see such dedicated cultural amplification effort in small rural towns. It's...

Stopped in today with my 3 and 6 year old daughters and we all loved it. We didn’t know what to expect, but were greatly impressed. We’ve been to Calgary’s heritage park many times and this was similar, but better in many ways. I love that the buildings are close together so you can see everything without spending the entire day walking long distances across a huge park. I also loved that the displays are not roped off so you can actually walk through the buildings and explore, just being mindful of signs indicating what items shouldn’t be touched. I love how genuine and old the buildings and artifacts are, as well as the great variety of things to see. What a lovely spot, bursting with history, in the heart of Pincher Creek. The people working were so kind and they obviously take great pride in the place because it is so well kept. Definitely worth...

For all history lovers, this village features so many buildings and artifacts from Western Canada's history that you won't be disappointed. It is considerably cheaper than Calgary's Heritage Park, and has a different perspective on the early days of Settler history. Combine this with visits to Fort Whoop Up, Head-Smashed-In, the Haoanese Friendship Gardens, and Waterton for an amazing, experiential way to learn the rich history of this area.

One small criticism- none of the sites mentioned do enough to cover important POC characters like John Ware, who were integral to the development of Alberta and the Canadian West. I would love to see some serious investment money given to places like Pioneer Village so that they can truly explore this lesser known aspect of...