This rural Alberta museum has thousands of lamps and some are 400+ years old

If rising travel costs have you rethinking your summer travel plans, a mini road trip through Alberta may be the perfect excuse to see some of the province’s quirky hidden gems.

One of those is the Donalda & District Museum, located in the tiny Village of Donalda, 120 kilometres southeast of Edmonton. The museum is home to an impressive collection of local history, Métis artifacts, and, as the giant landmark outside might suggest, a lot of lamps.

The museum houses more than 1,500 lamps, dating from the 1600s to the 1960s. The collection was first established in 1979, when local residents Don and Beth Lawson donated 500 lamps, and has continued to grow through donations and acquisitions.

Much of the collection focuses on kerosene oil lamps used in residences, businesses, and public buildings from the 1850s to the 1950s. Today, you can find them in the museum’s main building.

And then, there’s the big one outside.

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The World’s Largest Oil Lamp replica officially opened on July 1, 2000, as a millennium project designed to complement Donald’s extensive lamp collection.

Donalda & District Museum/Facebook

Standing 42 feet tall and 17 feet wide, the massive steel and fibreglass structure overlooks the Meeting Creek Coulee and even lights up at night.

But beyond the lights, the museum has even more to offer.

It has built an extensive collection dedicated to preserving and showcasing the history and people of the region. The museum’s local history collection includes more than 4,000 artifacts documenting daily life in the area, from early settlement to more modern times.

Among the items on display are Norwegian wedding spoons dating from 1832, period clothing, pottery, toys, dishes, salt and pepper shakers, coffee grinders, early coins and tokens, wool-spinning wheels, tools, and memorabilia from local organizations.

The museum also features the Whitford collection, a permanent exhibit of Métis artifacts from the late 1800s.

So, if you’re looking to plan your next weekend road trip, why not check it out?! From hidden canyons to historic shelters, rural Alberta is loaded with little-known gems worth putting on your radar.

Donalda & District Museum

Address: 5001 Main St., Donalda, Alta.