This Geocache site is brought to you by Turtle Mountain Souris Plains Heritage Association. Lat: N 49°23.677′ Long: W 101°05.282′. (Descriptions from Manitoba Historical Society website, and Winnipeg Free Press, September 2015.)
A two-storey building at Broomhill was built in 1908 for William Kilkenny and his brother John Kilkenny (1862-1930). In its heyday, the Kilkenny store was the centre of the community. A hand-operated gasoline pump sat at the south end, in front of an entrance to the store and post office, with an implement agency and garage at the north end. Three residential suites (two large, one small) on the upper storey were rented out. The business was operated by a succession of Kilkennys until it closed on 30 September 1964. The building’s east and south walls are made from patterned concrete blocks, cast on site using sand and gravel obtained nearby. Although the roof and interior floors are collapsing, the walls continue to stand, intact.
Broomhill, a ghost town for the past 50 years, has also continued its reputation as one of the finest bird-dog training centres in North America. There are several reasons why bird-dog trainers from the American South like Manitoba and Saskatchewan: the long daylight hours (when it’s still light out at 9:30 p.m. here, it’s dark by 7:30 p.m. in Alabama); the wide-open space; and there are no poisonous snakes. But the main reason is climate. It’s simply too hot from July to September to run bird dogs in Alabama.
