What Artefacts Are in the Mennonite Heritage Village Collection?

Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) in Steinbach, Manitoba, holds a curated collection of heritage artefacts — rare tools, textiles, furniture, vehicles and personal items — that trace the Russian Mennonite experience across generations. The collection is presented in indoor galleries and seasonal exhibits, and many pieces come with documented family histories: who owned them, how they were used, and how they reached the museum. If you want to see specific pieces, the museum's website profiles selected artefacts and points readers to its Village News for fuller stories.

What kinds of artefacts does MHV hold?

The museum describes its gallery as a curated display of "rare tools, textiles, and treasures that define the Mennonite experience across generations." In practice, the collection spans:

• Tools and equipment — the working implements of pioneer life
• Textiles — clothing, linens and household fabrics
• Furniture — including clocks and household pieces
• Vehicles — at least one restored family automobile
• Personal items — such as wallets and documents carried by early Mennonite delegates

The artefacts are displayed both in the indoor galleries and across the living village of heritage buildings, so a visit combines object viewing with period settings.

Featured artefacts and their stories

1938 McLaughlin Buick Special

This car was purchased new in 1938 by Peter P. Thiessen and Maria Peters Thiessen from the GMC/Buick dealership in Altona. It was a family vehicle in the fullest sense: it carried the family to church and to visit friends and relatives, it was used to teach the children to drive, and it was even put to work pulling a trailer hauling pigs to market.

After years sitting in the family farmyard, grandsons Don and Elmer restored the car in 2003. Elmer recalled taking his mother, Agathe, for a ride in the vehicle she had learned to drive in. In summer 2026, Elmer donated the preserved car to MHV. More detail is available in the museum's Village News.

Gilbert Admiral Calendar Clock

This clock originally hung in a Canadian Pacific Railway station in Saskatchewan, showing travellers both the time and the date. When the station was decommissioned, William Meisner of Regina salvaged it during the cleanup of the old station buildings. A clockmaker and restorer, Meisner repaired the clock and gave it to his sister, Esther Meisner, who displayed it before passing it to her son, Doug Rempel. Rempel donated it to MHV at the end of summer 2026.

Jakob Hoeppner's Wallet (1790)

The wallet belonged to Jakob Hoeppner (1748–1826), a delegate chosen by Prussian Mennonites — a piece that connects the Manitoba collection to the community's earlier European history.

Why the donation stories matter

A defining feature of the MHV collection is provenance. Rather than anonymous objects, many artefacts arrive with a chain of ownership and a family narrative — a car that taught a generation to drive, a station clock rescued and repaired by a relative. For visitors, this means the galleries read as family and community history rather than pure typology. For anyone considering donating an object, it also shows the kind of context the museum records and publishes.

How to see more of the collection

• Visit in person: start with a walkthrough of the village, then browse the indoor galleries and seasonal exhibits.
• Check the website: the "Our Artefacts" section profiles selected pieces with year, donor and history.
• Read Village News: the museum directs readers there for fuller artefact stories.
• Plan around hours and admission: current pricing and seasonal hours are posted on the museum's Pricing & Seasonal Hours page, and the newsletter is the way to hear about new exhibits and events.

Because exhibits rotate seasonally and new donations arrive — the Buick and the clock were both donated in 2026 — the surest way to know what is on display during your visit is to check the site or contact the museum before travelling.