Month: April 2026

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WE AREN’T LAWBREAKERS

Arriving in Ontario, Canada from Ireland in 1881, the Ready brothers bought 1/4 sections side by side. Not wanting to break any homesteader laws, the brothers built a “shack” on the property line and the house had bedrooms opposite ends of the house which assured each brother slept on their own land each night! This information is one of the coolest things I have ever found in a history.

Peter married and himself and his wife Jesse married and built this house in 1915. The brothers raised families on their respective 1/4’s.

Built in 1915 after a “bumper crop”, Mrs. told one of her relatives that the house was larger than she wanted.

The house had 5 bedrooms and an extra room which was to be a bathroom. Mrs. said that bathroom was big enough to be a 6th bedroom.

The brothers raised horses and cows and it was said that they had fine livestock. Unfortunately there was no evidence of a barn on the property. Mr. did have cars and tractors which he chose not to drive. Instead his transportation of choice was his beloved horse “Babe” who died in a fire at the Bonniham Livery.

Mr. passed away in 1981 at the age of 68. One of his 4 sons took over the farm.

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WHO BUILT IT?

The golden question. Sometimes I can’t find any information about a property. Other times, I struggle to figure out who settled on the land and who constructed the house! This property is one of those homesteads. And if we are being honest, this was a drive-by. Open the window, take a few shots and move on to something more decrepit and appealing.

The first recorded homesteader bought this land but farmed it only. He later rented to another well-known local who came to Canada, stayed briefly, moved to Saskatchewan and came back. He only lived on this land until 1922.

Family number 3 lived on this land for 25 years. They raised four children but I do not know if it was on this land alone.

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LENORE

After visiting the Scallion House, we headed over to the town of Lenore. It was getting dark. I fiddled a lot with settings to try and capture just the right light. The setting sun and cloud cover added to the challenge. If my memory serves me correctly, there was also a dog barking in the distance. Of course, I was worried about that.

I did try to find some history on this house but came up empty handed.

Off in the distance I managed to get the elevator in the shot. Not planned but I think Christian will be pleased with this shot.

I recently saw a photo of this house posted online. It appears that the middle section has given away more so than it has in these photos. It won’t be long before the two sides collapse into the center of the house.