Artifacts

It was during the preliminary design phase that one of the greatest finds in the building’s history to date was located. Tucked away in a corner of an attic above the Legislative Chamber, a small glass bottle was located by an engineering consultant doing further tests on the base of the Dome. Inside the bottle was a message from the two construction workers who worked on the building in 1911..

In 1907, a young man by the name of Neil Matheson along with his wife left Nova Scotia in search of prosperity in Western Canada. Matheson eventually settled in the Swift Current area. Matheson and his wife took up homestead on a parcel of land near the community of Success.

But Matheson was more than a farmer. He was also a stonemason by trade. Searching for work, Matheson found employment in Regina applying his trade in the construction of the Saskatchewan Legislative Building.

Matheson passed away in the 1920's. But before his death, A neighbour of Matheson's at the time, Edgar Caswell, came in possession of a pair of chisels used by Matheson in the construction of the Legislative Building.

Upon the death of Edgar Caswell, the chisels were handed down to his son in law, Alen Colpitts of Abbey, Saskatchewan.

Mr. Colpitts graciously donated the chisels to the provincial government and the Minister responsible for Saskatchewan Property Management Corporation, the Honourable Doreen Hamilton. On February 18, 1999, the chisels were put on permanent display in a kiosk within the Saskatchewan Legislative Building.

Along with the chisels, a logarithm book has also become part of a display within the Saskatchewan Legislative Building. Matheson's great nieces Francis Bain and Freda Reeve donated the logarithm book.