© 2026, Christian Cassidy
Address: 554 Magnus Avenue
Constructed: 1905
At 483 square feet, this is truly a tiny house. It is currently for sale for $89,900. You can check out the listing here. Obviously the interior was not staged by the Realtor!
Manitoba Historical Maps on Flickr
According to city assessment records, the building permit for this house was issued in 1905. This is in line with the rest of the original houses on the block, with several others built that same year.
At one time, this was part of the Magnus Brown homestead.
He was born in the Orkney Islands and came to Canada around 1839 to work as a trader for the HBC. After years of service, he was granted a 200-acre homestead spanning from Main to McPhillips streets.
In Winnipeg’s inaugural year of 1874, the Browns were in their sixties with no children and cashed in on the land boom by selling their property to the Burrows family.
The above 1874 subdivision plan is for the former Brown homestead, by then owned by Harriet Burrows. The plan was purely speculative as it took a couple of decades for city services to make their way out this far and create an urban subdivision.
Nearby area amenities were built soon after, such as Salem Reformed Church in 1908, William Whyte School in 1914, North End Chapel in 1917, and the Hebrew Free School in 1922.
1906 Census of Canada (Library and Archives Canada)
The earliest years of 554 Magnus’ history show a long list of short-term newcomer labourers, which suggests it may have been rental property>
The first to call it home appears in the 1906 street directory, the data for which would have been compiled in 1905. Michael Damkach, a labourer, is the head of household, and G. Denkuk, an employee at Royal Crown Ltd., is a renter. (Street directories were not known for being accurate with new immigrant names. In this case, when handwritten, the two names look very similar and may have been the same family.)
The following year, street directories show Charles Itsoph, no occupation, and the 1906 census (see above) shows a Prussian couple whose names are illegible.
Some stability came in 1907 with labourer Wasyl Seph (or Sephe), who lived here for a couple of years. This was followed by Isaac Skepna, a labourer with the city, who lived here until 1912.
It was then back to some short-term dwellers, including: Samuel Heckman, teamster (1912); Michael Kopp, employee at gas works (1913); Sam Narmartesnsky, shoemaker (1914); and George Demchuk, labourer (1915). It's likely that most of these men had spouses and some had children. Street directories only show the head of household and other working adults.
Union Stock Yards ca. 1913 (City of Winnipeg Archives)
Stability came to the house in 1916 with the arrival of the Granda family, who packed five people into this one-bedroom house!
Anton (Tony) Granda was a labourer at the Union Stock Yards in St. Boniface who came to Canada from Poland in 1912. He lived with his wife, Sophie and their two children. For good measure, Mike Wogoski, an icemaker, is a lodger.
By 1921, the Granda children were part of the workforce. Mary (15) was a wrapper at the Canadian Candy and Biscuit Co. at 610 Dufferin, and Mike (18) was an employee at the Winnipeg Paper Box Co. at 218 Henry.
February 24, 1941, Winnipeg Tribune
The Grandas moved out in 1922 and lived in a couple of locations before the family, now including Mike's wife, ended up at 580 Burrows in 1929. Tony worked at the Union Stock Yards in St. Boniface.
Mike Granda died in 1931 at the age of 27. A cause of death wasn't mentioned.
A decade later, in February 1941, Tony and Sophie were on St. Annes Road crossing to the centre island to a street car stop, when Tony was struck and killed by a car. The driver was arrested but faced no charges as he argue d that he was blinded by oncoming headlights and didn't see Granda. Mrs. Granda sued him for damages and received $1,300.
1931 Census of Canada (Library and Archives Canada)
The stability continued with Bartko “William” Placan, a labourer with the CPR, who arrived with his family in 1923. Wife Catherine and five children ranging in age from 2 to 16. They stayed until 1951.
Through the 1950s, Joseph C. Bielinski who worked for Western Glove, and wife, Emily lived here.
Mr. Bielinski was born in Poland and came to Canada as a child with his family. He was employed at Western Glove for the last 14 years of his working life, retiring in October 1957. The couple had three sons and daughters who by this time were all grown, and many with children of their own..
Sadly Mr. Bielinski didn’t get to enjoy his retirement as he died in February 1958 at the age of 69. Emily moved the following year.
Grave at Holy Family Cemetery (Holly, Find a Grave)
In 1960, another older couple, Peter and Margaret Swidinsky, arrived at the house.
Peter was born in Borschiw, Western Ukraine, and came to Manitoba in 1926, and settled in the Rossburn area. Two years later, he was joined by his wife Magdalene/Margaret (nee Duniec), also born in Borschiw, and their first child. They would go on to have three more children.
The couple moved to Winnipeg in 1957 and Peter worked as a bookkeeper at Manitoba Cold Storage before retiring in 1966. They were devoted members of Sts. Vladimir and Olga Cathedral on McGregor Street, where Margaret attended daily mass.
Peter died in November 1973 at the age of 76. Margaret continued to live at the house until 1977. She died at Holy Family Nursing Home in May 1996 at the age of 95.
Grave at Stonewall cemetery, (R. Mitchell, Find a Grave)
In 1978, Harvey and Patricia Dubreuil moved in.
Harvey was born in 1924 in Sudbury, Ontario and worked at the Maple Leaf Mills on Archibald Street. Patricia (nee McCormick) was born 17 years later in Gunton, Manitoba. It is unclear when the couple married, and they had three children, Clifford, Jean and Susan. it is likely that at least a couple of the children lived with them.
Patricia died at the house in December 1979 at the age of 38.
Harvey retired in the early 1980s and lived here until at least 1999, when the Winnipeg street directory ceased publication. That's at least 22 years, making him the longest-term resident of 554 Magnus Avenue.
Harvey Dubreuil died at the Maples Personal Care Home in February 2002 at the age of 77.
No comments:
Post a Comment