I randomly discovered a curiosity in Winnipeg on Instagram: the Cement Cemetery. So, I wanted to share with you the story of this amazing site, some photos and a drone video!
The Cement Cementery
There was not much information available on this strange place until the Manitoba Historical Society published some research last August.
These cement pillars have been here since the 1960s or so, marked with numbers that could be related to dates. They are mostly 50, 55 or 60 feet (or 1m52, 1m67 and 1m82).
Abandoned project ? Homage to aliens? Rumors were rife. It was only certain that a company called Inland Cement owned the land in the 1950s and 1960s.
On the site, there are four small round hills that are completely symmetrical, and the pillars are geometrically placed. The photo below shows the second group of pillars, the furthest from the road.
In fact, the site is the remains of a trade war. The cement pillars would have been laid in late 1963, early 1964, by the British-American Construction and Materials Limited. This company was the result of the amalgamation of 31 smaller companies. Their specialty? Building materials, land purchase and development, and of course construction. They are the ones who made these pillars out of cement.
In 1963, this company and another, Inland, each decided to acquire a cement plant. But there was already a cement plant in Winnipeg. Analysts at the time warned them that production in Manitoba was not large enough to require three factories in continuous operation.
But they didn’t listen and started testing with their new cement. The dates on the pillars represent the date on which they were made, in order to be able to assess the time needed to then use this cement in construction. British Americam Cement Limited was taken over by its competitor in 1964. They abandoned this site to build another, also now abandoned. And the story ends there!
The Cement Cemetery from the sky
If you want to get a bird’s-eye view of Winnipeg’s Cement Cemetery, you might like the video below.
Where is Winnipeg’s Cement Cemetery?
The addresses found on the Internet are a bit misleading. Although technically the Cement Cemetery is in the Rural Municipality of Rosser, it is still within the city limits of Winnipeg. You have to go on Sturgeon Road, north of the airport, into the huge no man’s land of Centerport.
More posts about Winnipeg?
– the Canadian Museum for Human Rights
– the Manitoba Electrical Museum
– the Cement Cemetery
– Back Alley Arctic, polar street-art
– the Manitoba Museum
– Winterlude, an ice-carving competition
