Visit Heritage Park
1900 Heritage Dr. S.W. Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2V 2X3
Email: info@heritagepark.ca
Phone: 403.268.8500
Sod Shack
Closed
Hours of Operation
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Monday
Closed
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Tuesday
Closed
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Wednesday
Closed
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Thursday
Closed
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Friday
Closed
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Saturday
Closed
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Sunday
Closed
The Historical Village is now closed until May 17, 2025 except for special and ticketed events. The Historical Village will be open for Ghouls' Night Out from Oct. 24 - 27, 2024. The Historical Village will also be open for Once Upon A Christmas on Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. from Dec. 7 - 22, 2024. Gasoline Alley Museum and the shops and restaurants in Heritage Plaza are open year-round.
Exhibit Details
Category
Building/Museum
About the Sod Shack
It is estimated that between 1900 and 1910, approximately one million sod houses were in use on the Prairies of North America. Upon their arrival on the Prairies, many settlers were dismayed to see that there were not enough large trees in the coulees to build a log cabin.
Undaunted, they turned to the only building material abundant on the bald prairie, sod. Heritage Park drew on the expertise of many people in erecting its own sod shack in 1971, but the majority of the credit goes to Fred Lee, an elderly carpenter who had grown up in a sod house in Saskatchewan. Fred’s memories of the many finer points of building with sod, such as attaching factory cotton to the walls using small saplings, helped build the most authentic sod house possible.
