1908 was an important year for the Doukhobors in Saskatchewan. It was the year they had to face the prospect of assimilation if they accepted the Dominion government's ultimatum of swearing out individual homesteads and losing their communal lifestyle, or 'pulling up stakes' and trying to begin all over again.

Peter Verigin gave them a choice, but announced that he had been successful in seeking new land, land which they would own and thus not be obligated to swear the oath and since it was to be their own land, would allow them to preserve their communal status.

About two thirds of the Doukhobors decided to trust their reliant spirit and make a new beginning.

Between 1908 and 1913, about 5,000 hardy souls had trekked to British Columbia to the 'Valley of Consolation', so named by Peter Verigin, a new place of solace, Ooteshnie.

Our exhibit for 1908 illustrates this largest ever in Canada migration. The 1908 initial purchase of 2800 acres at Ooteshenie was soon followed by 2700 acres on the outskirts of Grand Forks, 2200 acres in Pass Creek and 1100 acres at Slocan Junction. By 1910 the CCUB owned 10,000 acres, by 1912, 14,403 acres and by 1924, 21,648 acres in BC and nearly 50,000 in Alberta and Saskatchewan. By 1938 when the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood was forced into bankruptcy, the modest beginning had grown into the largest communal organization in North America, totalling over 70,000 acres in the three western provinces and including orchards, sawmills, jam factories, brick factories, blacksmith works and farms.

Our new exhibit presents many archival photographs previously unseen, from the decision in Saskatchewan to the early settlement in British Columbia. One cabinet and wall is devoted to Peter V. Verigin, featuring many historical photos and personal possessions. In addition to the archival photographs, specific notes and bulletins provide the entire history of the Doukhobor pioneering presence from 1908 to the demise of the CCUB in 1938.