The Hourie House is a finalist in the 2025 Next Great Save competition
To people visiting the Hourie House at the Fort la Reine Museum in Portage la Prairie, Man., the building is a symbol of Manitoba’s past.
But to people like Karen Hourie Ellefson, it’s a piece of family history.
Her great grandparents on her father’s side, Philip and Euphemia Hourie, built the house in 1890 on a site now known as River Lot 70. They received the lot from Hudson Bay Company as a thank you for loyal service.
And Hourie Ellefson spent a lot of time in the home during her childhood.
“Our family home was down the lane from that house,” she told Farms.com. “It was no longer being used and so it became like a big playhouse for my brother and I. We got to go rummage in the house any time we wanted, and my five aunts who grew up in that house left lots of treasures like dolls and books for us to find.”
Karen Hourie Ellefson
The house is also a piece of Métis history.
Euphemia was a Métis midwife and healer who came to be known as “Granny Hourie.”
“Many Métis experienced loss when the settlers took over our land,” Hourie Ellefson said. “We were very lucky to have a deed to our land.”
Hourie Ellefson is a member of District 4 in the Otipemisiwak Métis Government.
In 1970 as part of the celebrations for Manitoba's centennial, the Hourie family farm received the designation of Manitoba’s farm of the century. A decade later, the house was relocated to the museum grounds.
This helped ensure the Hourie family legacy would be secured, Hourie Ellefson said.
“My family was quite pleased because it was a way to preserve our family history,” she said. “If it stayed on the river lot it would’ve fallen into a state of disrepair. My dad in particular was extremely pleased.”
The Houries are now hoping the public can help take the family preservation to the next level.
The home is a finalist in the 2025 Next Great Save competition.
The contest hosted by National Trust for Canada awards $65,000 to help communities protect historic sites across Canada.
The 135-year-old needs structural upgrades.
“They want to put a strong foundation down,” Hourie Ellefson said. “You can see cracks on the second floor that have emerged over time because of freeze thaw cycles. But there’s no point in repairing those unless they have a good foundation or else they’ll keep occurring.”
Canadians can register with an email address and vote every day until the contest ends on April 17.
The Hourie House has 1,951 votes as of April 9.
Though the house is no longer on its original river lot, that piece of property remains in the family.
Hourie Ellefson’s brother Colin lives on the lot and his shop is built on the site where the original house stood.
She now lives in Calgary but tries to revisit the home at least once each year.
“I was there last year, and all of these childhood memories come flooding back whenever I visit,” she said. “We’re so lucky that our family history is well known and preserved, and the house is a tangible connection to our past.”