The Torrington Gopher Hole Museum, also known as the World Famous Gopher Hole Museum, located in Torrington, Alberta, features 77 stuffed gophers (Richardson's ground squirrels) posed to resemble townspeople in 44 intricately designed dioramas. Roughly 7–10,000 people visit the museum every year. While it is open primarily during the summer months, they will open by request (volunteer dependant). Dioramas depict gophers as hunters, firefighters, cosmetologists, priests, bank robbers, RCMP officers, pool players, and First Nations people. From its opening day until recently, the World Famous Gopher Hole Museum charged $2 for adults and 50 cents for children (12-18...under 12 free). With the loss of revenue resulting from the pandemic and soaring expenses, the museum has switched to a "by donation" model.
After the decommissioning of railway lines and the subsequent closure of the towns grain elevators, a one-time $9,000 grant from the Government of Alberta was applied to by the Village of Torrington (Unincorporated 1997) the purpose of which was to create a tourist attraction to generate business for the small community. At the last of three brainstorming meetings for the grant, one woman (referring to the areas ground squirrel overpopulation) jokingly suggested to stuff 'gophers' and put them on display. The town now had its tourism concept. News of the museum spread quickly worldwide after a small filler piece airred on a Calgary, AB news station after which the museum attracted international attention of both supporters and protesters, including PETA and the Kennedy's! Prior to opening day, this little museum on the prairie was the target of protestors and a bomb threat. It opened in 1996 with over 10,000 people attending that year.
The museum is constructed of two small buildings, a one-room, rural school house and one of the former grain elevator offices. Both have historic value to the area. They were covered with shiplap to create the appearance of one building. Specimens were provided by area farmers, hunters and veterinarians. Five local people offered to learn taxidermy. Some volunteers found or created miniatures for the dioramas, while others helped create clothing for museum residents. Volunteers also operate, maintain, and provide tours for the museum and also came up with the ideas for the exhibits. The museum really is a labour of love and volunteers have been responsible for all of it.
The west exterior mural was created by artist Wayne Schneider who grew up just outside of Torrington. Wayne is responsible for a bunch of the down town paintings in small town Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan. He is listed in the National Art Gallery of Canada and was featured. Additionally, Wayne was an artistic director of the Canadian classic comedy SCTV.[URL]
The museum is profiled in Chelsea McMullan's 2015 documentary film "World Famous Gopher Hole Museum". It has also been featured in CBC's weekly drama Heartland; Reader's Digest; National Geographic; Ripley's Believe it or Not; the textbook by UofA professor, Leanne Mctavish, Voluntary Detours; and countless newspaper and magazine articles, TV/podcast interviews, YouTube videos and influencer content.
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