Originally built in 1880 by Edmund Manley south of Newdale, this old log house was preserved over the years by being covered with shiplap and insul brick siding. The Museum Committee was interested in saving it and planned to tear it down piece by piece, numbering the logs and re-assembling it at the Heritage Village in Minnedosa.
Edmund Manley had come west from Ontario, with other family members in 1878. They were the first settlers in the area south of Newdale. With logs (poplar) cut and hewn from the Little Saskatchewan River Valley north of Newdale (as it is known today) the parents built a home for the family approximately 4.5 miles south of Newdale. Then in 1880 Edmund, the youngest son built his house (approx. 18’ x 25’) on his homestead quarter section NE-18-15-20. For the next 79 years the log house with various additions and deletions was home to the Edmund Manley’s, the John F. Waddell’s, the Carl Norden’s and finally the Ed Norden’s.
In April and May of 2004 members of the Minnedosa and District Museum Committee began the job of tearing down the old home of the Norden family. Finally in July 2006, the house was re-assembled on a new cement pad in the Heritage Village. A new roof was put on and shingled with cedar shingles. In September 2006 the logs were chinked and plastered on the outside walls and 2 coats of preservative stain were applied to help preserve the logs and retard insect damage. Windows and doors have been repaired and replaced, and furnishings added.
