Millet Walking Tour
Reverand Father Lacombe named the village of Millet in 1891. The President of the Canadian Pacific Railway, Sir William Van Horne asked Father Lacombe to name the stations from Lacombe and north on the new Calgary-Edmonton line. Millet was named for one of Father Lacombe's travelling companions and canoemen, August Millet. Mr. Millet was sometimes under the employment of the Hudson's Bay Company and sometimes under contract with the Northwest Mounted Police.
This walking Tour will take you through some of the points of interest of Millet. Many of the Historic Points of Interest have plaques that give more complete information about the sites.
In order to do the full tour, one should set aside about an hour and a half. Most of the walk is done on sidewalks or paved paths. There are however some areas where there is no sidewalk, or only a shale path. The main part of the walk is mostly flat. The trail throught he Pipestone Park does contain a few gentle hills both up and down. The main parts of the Tour can be driven. The Pipestone Trail, however, is for walking only.
Take the Virtual Tour
1 - From the museum that was built in 1985 turn right (south) to the end of the building to read about the antique fire wagon that has become the logo of the Millet and District Museum. See the plaque for more information.
2 - At the end of the block, turn right to visit St John’s Anglican Church. The church was built in 1929. Reverend Arthur Murphy conducted occasional services here in the first few years. See the plaque for more information.
3 - The second house from the end on the left hand side of this block was built in 1905 as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The address is 5031-51Ave.
4 - Continue down 51 Avenue and then left on to 51 Street (walk along the west side of the street) and then right on to 50 Avenue to visit Kilborn Antiques, open Wednesday to Saturday 11:00am – 4:30pm.
5 - Continue going west on the north side of 50 Avenue to the Millet Evangelical Free Church built in 1999.
6 –West of the church is the outdoor ice rink. The Millet and District Historical Society planted the row of trees found here with a grant from the Community Animation Program to naturalize the area in 2000. See the plaque for more information. Waringstown Garden is in dedication of our partnership with Waringstown, Northern Ireland in the 2002-03 International Communities in Bloom program.
7 – Continuing west is the Curling Rink, which was built in 1975. Two rinks were built previously in 1925, and 1935. The meetings of the Fish and Game Association are also held in this building.
8 - Next on this block is the Millet Royal Canadian Legion Branch #229 Building. This building was erected after a fire on April 7, 1997 destroyed the original building that was located on the west side of Highway 2A.
9 – From the Legion Building, cross 50 Avenue to visit St Norbert’s Catholic Church. This church was built in 1907. See the plaque for more information.
10 - Cross 52 Street to find the entrance to Pipestone Creek Recreation Park and the beginning of the Pipestone Park Trail System. The Trail System covers 65 acres and has paved and red shale paths.
From here there are two options
(1) For a shorter walk follow 52 Street south to the intersection with 45 Avenue. Turn left and follow 45 Avenue to the Fire Hall. Go to #11.
(2) For a longer trip, continue on the Pipestone Park Trail. This is denoted on the map by a dotted line. It will take you through the park, across 45 Avenue and follows the Pipestone Creek. The trail will take you through Pipestone Park. The Splash Park opened in 2004. Take the red shale path when you reach the baseball diamond. Follow this until the next fork. Here, take the left path that will take you underneath the 45 Street Bridge. Along the path there are signs giving information about the natural area and its wildlife. There are also benches for you to rest on and garbage cans are located along the trail. At the next fork in the road, take the trail that leads to the bridge. This path will take you towards Wilks Drive and 45 Street. If you wish to continue enjoying the natural area continue down the right hand path. This will take a larger loop and joins the main trail a bit later. You will still end up on Wilks Drive. From here, cross 45 Avenue and walk east to the Fire Hall.
Caution: After a heavy rain the low parts on the trail may be flooded.
11 - The Fire Hall was built in 2000. It houses several different trucks and fire apparatus as well as supports over 25 firefighters.
12 – Continue east to the tennis courts. Take the sidewalk on the west side and follow it into the school grounds. As you walk through, you will first come to the Millet School, which was built in 1930. See the plaque for more details. Also, more information about the first Millet School (1901) can be found in the Millet School Bell kiosk at the end of the tour. As you follow the sidewalk, you will next come to Griffiths-Scott Middle School. The Griffiths-Scott Middle School was named on March 23, 1981 after Mr. Griffiths who was Principal in Millet between 1933 and 1962, and Jean Scott, a dedicated teacher in the Millet area for 27 years.
13 – From the school, turn right onto 47 Avenue and walk until you reach Highway 2A. On your right is the Burger Barn. This restaurant has been recognised for its delicious hamburgers by many individuals as well as organizations such as AMA.
14 - Cross Highway 2A at the crossing lights. On the right is the Legacy Garden. Continue north on the east side of the road.
15 – Looking to the west side of the road is Leanne’s Bar and Grill. This building was originally Vic’s Garage and was built in 1927 when fire destroyed the original Vic’s. Another fire damaged Vic’s Garage on this site in 1948 but did not destroy the building.
16 - Continue north on the east side of the road. Here there is a large sign that gives information about the Canadian Pacific Railway that runs through Millet. Go a little farther and you will come to the replica of the Railway garden. See the plaque for more information.
17 – Continue north to 49 Avenue and turn left, crossing Highway 2A. Continue west on 49Ave and in the middle of the block is the Millet United Church. This building was built in 1902 as the Methodist Church. The Methodist Home Mission raised the money for it and volunteers built it. See the plaque for more information.
18 - Right across the street is the Millet Lions Family Hall. The Independent Order of Odd fellows, and its subordinate lodge, the Rebekah Lodge, built this building in 1936. The Lions Club, established in 1974, moved into the hall in the early 1990’s.
19 – Beside the Lions Hall stands the Millet Public Library. The library was formed when three branches of the Women’s Institute joined to establish a community library, which opened in February of 1954. The library moved into its present location in 1994. The mural, titled “Once Upon a Time”(2004), is a tribute to a half-century of outstanding library service to the community. See the plaque for more information.
20 - At the end of the block turn right (north) onto 51 Street. Notice to your left the Community Hall. The Millet Board of Trade built the Community Hall in 1950-51. The first event was a dance held on June 27, 1951 when the building was not yet complete. The Community Hall is used for many functions. The Little People’s Indoor Play Society meets here regularly. This Society is similar to the Mothers Club, began by Flora Cornelia Howes around 1917. A Legacy Mural for Millet’s 100th Birthday titled “Community Spirit” is featured on the front of the building. The roofline of the 1917 Pinyon’s Hall is depicted on the left as well as dancers and vehicles of the era. The other dancers and cars are of the 1950’s. See the plaque for more information.
21 – From the Community Hall, go east (right) on 50 Avenue. This avenue was originally called Alberta Street. In the early days it seemed that Alberta Street would be the main street in Millet. Other businesses on Alberta Street were Mrs Campbell’s boarding house, Millet Packet, and Cooper Bros Harness and Hardware (1906). The location of these buildings is unknown as there was a fire on the southwest end of Alberta Street in 1910. These buildings, as well as Pillens Feed Store and Kovars’s pool hall were on this street west of the Mercantile Store. Alberta Street was never the main street of town as was predicted. On the right side of the road is Zaytoon. This building, built in 1921, was once John West’s Mercantile Store. The bungalow next door is the West’s home that was built at the same time as the store. See the plaque for more information.
22 - Across the street from Zaytoon, you can see Daisy Lane Flowers, Giftware and Crafts and next door is Apple Drugs. This was the site of the Arlington Hotel. Jonas Johnson built the original part of the hotel in 1902. There were many additions made over the years. The Arlington Hotel burned down on February 15, 1995. Apple Drugs was built in 2002. Mr. and Mrs. Oselies erected the mural titled “Alberta Street” in 2003. The mural shows the Hotel, the Hotel Sample Room, a house, which later became the telephone exchange, and an implement dealer. See the plaque for more information
23 – Continue up 50 Avenue until you reach Highway 2A once more. Turn right in order to visit the shops along this street. The Millet Skillet and Butterfly Boutique building at the north end of the street was built to commemorate the railway station and the grain elevators that once stood in this town.
24 – From the corner, cross 50 Street and go north. On your left you will see the Cottage Style Old Bank Stopping House. See the plaque for more details.
25- Continue north past the Old Bank Stopping House to the Pipestone Flyer office. This building was built in 1955 and was the Post Office until 2002 when a new building was erected on 45 Ave (Highway 616).
26 – From the Flyer, cross Highway 2A to view the Rose Garden. This garden was planted as a memorial garden. Patrons make a donation for the purchase of a rose bush in memory of a loved one.
27 – Continue north on this side of the highway to see the re-creation of the Burns Creamery Garden. The Creamery, built in 1924, was located where the Legion building is located now (2003). See the plaque for more information.
