This two-storey home was built in 1893 for Robert Lane and his wife, Mary. It would also become the site of Mary Lane’s murder; an event significant not only to the history of Brandon, but to the history of both the province and the country.
Hilda Blake came to Canada in 1888 as an orphan immigrant from England. In 1898, she began working as a maidservant for the Lane family. One year later, on July 5, 1899, Hilda shot and killed Mary Lane. Although she fabricated an elaborate tale to cover up her crime, the 21-year old was accused and charged for the murder of her mistress. She was sentenced to death by hanging, and was hanged at the Brandon Court House on December 27, 1899. She remains the only woman ever to be hanged in Manitoba, and one of only two women to be hanged in all of Canada.