International Peace Garden, History and Progress

              to extend north to Churchill and south to Cape Horn. Upon this Main
Street of the Americas, which will be the longest north and south high­way
in the world, will travel millions of people in the days to come."
The Highway, it is hoped, w i l l link this Garden of Peace with the monument,
Christ of the Andes, erected by the Argentine and Chilean governments on their
boundary in 1904.
The first construction work within the Peace Garden was a stone cairn erected
in 1932 on the International Line a short distance from the proposed entrance. So
great was the interest in the proposed Peace Garden that a tremendous crowd
gathered on the Border, many miles from the nearest villages, to attend the dedica­tion
ceremony on July 14th, 1932. The crowd was variously estimated at from
25,000 to 50,000 people. Led by the Bishop of Brandon, they unitedly pledged
themselves in the words inscribed on the bronze plaque built into the Cairn and
framed with Indian stone hammers:
" TO G O D I N H I S G L O RY
W E Two NATIONS D E D I C A T E THIS G A R D E N AND P L E D G E OURSELVES
T H A T AS L O N G AS M E N S H A L L L I V E , W E W I LL
N O T T A K E U P A R M S AGAINST
O N E A N O T H E R"
In the first years, the Peace Garden was sponsored entirely by people living
in the eastern part of North America. The International Peace Garden Incorporated
was organized under the laws of the State of New York and until 1936 the annual
meetings were held in the City of New York.
It was the Gardeners' Associations of the two countries that sponsored the
idea of having a Peace Garden and it was one of their committees that selected the
site. Their appeal for support was made to the public, including individuals,
organizations, and all levels of Governments. In other words, it was a movement
of the people, by the people, for the purpose of expressing the deep- rooted desire
of all citizens for the promotion and maintenance of international goodwill and
harmonious relationships between nations. It is true there are international parks
and bridges, etc., but these largely found their origin in governmental action and
were financed almost entirely by Government funds, and do not constitute an
expression of the common people for the ideals sought in the International Peace
Garden movement. It is therefore apparent that this Garden is the only one of its
kind on the International Boundary.
The Garden was launched during the period of serious depression, sometimes
called " The Hungry Thirties." There was much unemployment and young men
were gathered into the Civilian Conservation Corp in the United States and into
Unemployed Relief Programs i n Canada. A Civilian Conservation Camp was estab­lished
in the International Peace Garden on the American side i n 1934. An arti­ficial
lake of considerable size was created by members of the Camp through the
construction of a dam and a separate spillway. This lake has since been named
Lake Udall, after W . V . Udall, editor of the Boissevain Recorder, who has assisted
greatly with the development. Three miles of gravelled park road were built, with
log bridges over streams. A Lodge was erected using Canadian logs and United
States stone. This building is 105 feet long, with a wing 60 feet long, which is
used as a dining room for group gatherings. The Lodge especially is popular with
organizations having international connections. Three large picnic shelters were
also built and seven tourist cabins, the latter providing accommodation for twelve
groups. Incinerators and open- air fire places are in the vicinity of the picnic
shelters. Also a regulation high wire fence was built on the outer boundaries.
On the Canadian side, a small lake was created near the entrance to the
Garden and a large lake further back. A three mile road was surveyed, graded and
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