History in your pocket: New app identifies Manitoba stories and sites wherever you stand

A new mobile app brings Manitoba's past into the present — and into the palm of your hand — by helping you discover the history that's all around you, but perhaps not immediately evident.

"The reality is we are surrounded by history.… We don't usually know about it, though, because it hasn't been marked or it hasn't been promoted," said Gordon Goldsborough, head researcher of the Manitoba Historical Society, which launched the MHS InSite app on Friday.

"I think what people are going to be surprised about, and I think quite enjoy, is that no matter where you are, at least in southern Manitoba, you're going to find stuff all over the place."

The free Android and iPhone app features an interactive map that lets users explore a wide range of historic sites, like buildings and monuments, but also "hidden historical gems" that are lesser known, said Goldsborough.

Sometimes those are locations where something used to be that's been lost to time.

"There's no marker … that would tell you what was there. But of course, there's buildings that have been there or events that took place there," Goldsborough said. "These are the things we can capture."

In places where plaques or other monuments do exist, they are often limited in the information they can provide, "but we go further," Goldsborough said.

"We'll often have details about who put up the monument, when did they put up the monument [and] why."

The app identifies and categorizes sites by six different icons: building, cemetery, location, monument, museum/archive and other. There are some 10,000 in all, with about 2,800 in Winnipeg.

If a user taps an icon, it'll open the Manitoba Historical Society website entry.

"It's history in your pocket," Goldsborough said.

Developer hopes app will foster love of local history

The app was launched Friday to coincide with Historic Places Days, an annual national celebration organized by the National Trust for Canada, a charity focused on preserving heritage places.

"I hope people will see things they never saw before," Goldsborough said. "I am immensely proud of Manitoba … and I want to tell the world what a great place it is. One of the ways to do that is to say, 'Look at the rich history we have.'"

The app was created by Kyle Tichon, who started out in 2023 making one "for fun" in his spare time. He was using open government data but found the information was limited to only 700 sites.

Both sets of his grandparents live on farms, so he wanted to include rural Manitoba as well. He did some research and found the historical society website had thousands of sites listed, along with photographs, maps and other details. He contacted Goldsborough to ask about using those resources.

The society secured a grant to help Tichon develop the app.

"I'm excited that so many more people are able to see it," Tichon said.

"One of my favourite moments … was finding historical sites relevant to my grandparents. I was able to find my grandparents' school and was able to hear the stories of all the teachers they had growing up — a school that's been demolished for long before my parents were born.

"Now it's included on the app, and that memory is preserved."

That rural connection also influenced Tichon's decision to make sure the app didn't rely too heavily on Wi-Fi, because internet connections in rural areas are spotty.

Even without data, the app will work, though it's limited. Text will show up but some graphics won't load, like photographs — and there are more than 24,000 of them.

One of the biggest challenges was working around the constraints of Google Maps, which is not supposed to have more than about 1,000 markers on it at a time.

"Every challenge that I encountered was just a new puzzle I had to solve. It was honestly the most fun I've had in a while," Tichon said.

"I hope this app can foster a love of local history … and hopefully can create new conversations with the people who were there and still have memories of some of these historic places."

While it covers essentially the whole province, it's not as inclusive as it could be, Goldsborough said, noting he wants to better document more of northern Manitoba but hasn't had the opportunity.

He hopes with the app now live, "people will sign on and say, 'Hey, I know about something that your app doesn't have.'"

It can also democratize history, he said, given that in the past, it was primarily wealthy men and their properties that were documented.

Now, "we all contribute to the betterment of everyone," Goldsborough said, encouraging people to provide any updated information they might have on sites already in the app.

"We want to keep up to date. If you find that something that was there is now gone, let us know."