Over the last few weeks I have spent some time going through my “to photograph” binder. This binder is what I’ve been told is old school and have been teased about numerous times. If you reading this, you know who you are!!!
Anyways, I finally got out after searching maps and satelittes and I have, suprisingly, found three houses in locations I thought may have bando on them. And all three were close by. So I spoke to my bando buddy and he said, yes, go, I think you’ve got something there. I did.
Now I can’t find any history on this small house so I’m just going to just post the photos I took with my iPhone. I do beleive that one of the families that owned this land built this small home and lived in it during the farming season and then moved back to their home in the Fall. It would make sense as it is quite small.
After retreating back to my vehicle, I pulled off 6 woodticks! That time of year is here and I supposed 6 is far better than the 50 some I picked off on another excursion where I just stopped counting. Good thing they don’t freak me out.
On my way out I did notice that there was a lot of moose droppings in the area around the house, I was watching fro them on my way back to the car but didn’t see any. I would assume that they are all safely tucked away awaiting for the arrival of ilittle ones.
My first find was far more exciting. Stay tuned and I’ll post that when I have a chance.
Mr., whose parents emigrated from the Island of Islay in the Herides was born and education near Collingwood, Ontario on May 26, 1874, came to Manitoba in 1902. A teacher at one of the schools in the Melita area, Mr. bought a half section of land, had it broken and built a home and with time, improved it. In 1910 he married Edith and on that farm they raised a family of four girls. 
As time went on, Mr. added to his land holdings. I don’t know if Mr. and Edith built and lived in this particular house or if the next landowners did but this is the home that still stands on this section of land.
When Mr. was elected to the Manitoba Legislature he had acquired one thousand, one hundred and twenty acres. Mr. served as a school trustee, secretary-treasurer of Albert Rural Credit Society, counsellor and Reeve before entering politics. 
There were a couple dozen cows on this land. This cow in particular was quite intriqued with me, standing up against its fence. I’m sure it thought I stopped to take its picture. Photogetic cow if I say so myself.
The next landowners came to this section of land when they married. Mr. was born on this land but in a different 1/4 section. They lived here for 15 years.
Long before the first registered homesteader came to this property, many indigenous people lived off this land. Many studies have been conducted and many different artifacts from different periods of time have been recovered in different layers of the land here but there is still not a lot know about the very first settlers, the Blackduck people who are recorded to have lived on this land between A.D. 700 and A.D. 1300.
What we do know is that Mr. William Thomas Brockinton, a graduate of Oxford University in England, and his wife and two children who were 5 and 3 years old left England and William’s job as an auditor for The Birmington Railway and arrived in Woodstock, Ontario in the fall of 1881 with zero farming experience.
They remained in Woodstock that first winter and met a group of young men who were on their way to Manitoba. The men picked their homesteads from a Homestead Map and headed to Brandon in the Spring of 1882. Brandon was a far as they could travel by train as that was where the track ended at that time. The group organized their supplies and William bought himself what was said to be the best team of oxen ever seen. The cart was loaded with lumber which would build the Brockinton’s house. Mrs. drove a pony, hitched to a buggy with the children inside and a cow attached behind. Remember, the Brockinton’s had zero farm experience and it is said they relied heavily on the young men they travelled to Manitoba with.
On their first night, the cow got loose and William spent a good part of the night trying to get it back. This resulted in William missing the ferry at Plum Creek. The young men were not happy as they had already gotten their supplies across and were annoyed that William was likely going to delay things trying to get his oxen and load of lumber across the creek. This didn’t stop William. He came down the bank, oxen pulling his lumber and entered the water. It wasn’t long before the oxen were completely submerged underwater for about 10 feet or so. The force of the load was so heavy that the oxen were able to get their footing on the bottom of the creek and carry on across the creek bottom and up the other side of the bank. It is said that all the while, William stood on the top of the load, smoking his pipe like this was a normal thing.
That first winter, the Brockinton’s lived in their small, cold, wood house. The young men decided to head back to Woodstock for the winter leaving William all alone to figure out his first winter on the prairies. A Manitoba winter was not something William and his family was used to. In February, the family started to get short on food so William set out for food and nearly froze to death on his way back with a bag of potatoes which were also frozen by the time he barely made it back to his family.
During the second summer in Manitoba, William acquired a second homestead on the river flats where there was plenty of wood. That first winter William built a soddy to live in. William now spent his time between his two homesteads and in 1895 he built this beautiful stone home which still stands today.
After moving to Manitoba, the Brockinton family had two more children. As there were no schools nearby, William home schooled his children until a school was built nearby in 1901.
William was an exceptional violinist and was more than willing to teach anyone who was willing to learn.
Mr. and Mrs. Brockinton continued to live on their farm until their deaths. Mrs. Brockinton died in November of 1924 and Mr. Brockinton died in September of 1933 at 83 years of age.
It is said that William continued to purchase land in the area and at one point paid $4.80 an acre. I cannot tell you exactly where this couple retired.
This land is also recognized as a Manitoba Grassland Birding Trail.
This old homestead is recognized as a National Historical Site. One day I hope to find out more about the Blackduck People who inhabited this land many, many moons ago.
Of course, this is one of those ones where I cannot find anything for the first recorded landowner of this property. Recorded to have acquired the land in 1885 and sell the next year, clearly nothing was done with this land and they carried on.
Then in 1898, WGM from Otter Lake, Quebec decided to homestead here. Born on August 6, 1874 he married Mary who was born in Scotland in 1884 and immigrated to the Virden area with her parents as a girl. We visited this house on August 9th.
Christian told me about this house with an old car in front. This got me pretty excited until I realized that the car wasn’t really that old but was old looking to him. I appreciate he knows what I like though. He’s a great bando seeking friend.
Mr. & Mrs. were married in 1904 and together they had 4 children. Their youngest was only 8 years old when Mrs. passed away in 1922. Mr. lived until 1958.
In approximately 1947 this homestead changed ownership. The yard was surrounded by fruit trees and our fellow explorers identified them as plums.
This house has been on my radar for a very long time. The day we finally went to see it, which was the first time for both Christian and I, my anxiety was through the roof. In my mind I was thinking of reasons why we shouldn’t go. Long walk in, getting stuck, tall grass, uncovered well. All ridiculous.
More often than not, we go to a house because we’ve seen it photographed by someone else and decide we must see it too. More often than not, I know nothing about the house, that always comes afterwards. While I knew a couple things, what I found out after was a story of a man who changed farming in the early 1900’s. Those practices carried on into today’s time. I had no idea when I started to dig into it how significant this man would be to this area and to Manitoba.
There is a lot of history here and I’m not sure where to start or how much to write about so lets start with the house in its prime.
When I look at this photo its very hard for me to picture the house like this given the state it is in now. To get to this property, which is located about 1/4 mile off the municipal road, we drove up a long drive, ruts visible and large maple trees which enclose the laneway. I can imagine that this was a beautiful drive in its time. Likely not so good in a Manitoba winter but I would imagine these trees would be a pretty good shelterbelt.
Until 1954 the CPR had a line which was ran to the Rocanville Substation. I do not know if station still exists today and if it is, what it is called or if it is operational and for what. I do know that this railway is what makes this landowner and this house as popular as it is.
James William Scallion born February 14, 1847 in Wexford, Ireland immigrated to Canada and in particular Thorold, Upper Canada which is known today as Hamilton, Ontario. Arriving in Canada with his parents, brother and two sisters at the age of 10, James did all his schooling there and later became a teacher at the Toronto Normal School for a few years. Then himself and his brother Thomas, ran a store in Thorold. It is said that they became intrigued by the possibilities in Western Canada and in 1882 moved to Stonewall, Manitoba. The foll0wing year they headed to the Virden area and purchased 640 of land and chose this spot as the homestead.
Dubbed “The Grange”, the brothers built the house and granary from field stone found on the land. One of the first homesteaders in the area, the brothers built a lavish field stone home which even had electricity in the house and the barn. In a short time they upgraded their acreage to 960 and included livestock to their farm. This required the brothers to hire two farmhands.
The granary which is in great shape was above standard for its time. Not only did they have electricity but it held 12,000 bushels and had electricity to run the machinery to help load and unload the grain. That railway I was telling you about, was within 500 yards of this granary and because of this the Scallion brothers were able to load their grain onto the passing boxcars, therefore eliminating the commercial elevator in the area. This put more money into the pockets of the Scallions and not the elevators and railways.
Back to the family. I really wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I got here. For a while I just stood here and looked around. In the NE section there were combines going. It was peaceful and the sky was amazing but starting to set so I knew I didn’t have a lot of time because I did not have my tripod with me. Behind me were multiple bee hives but of course they were not at all interested in what I was doing.
It is said that after the death of their parents in Ontario, James’ two sisters Hannah and Catherine joined their two brothers in approximately 1887. The four of them lived unmarried and happy in this house. Said to be known for their hospitality, the Scallions had plenty of visitors to their farm. People wanted to see how they prospered.
James Scallion was known as a successful farmer in the area but he should be better known as the man who pursued and was successful in assuring that the farmers who worked hard for their crops got a fair price for their grain. James believed that all farmers should be able to ship their grain directly to the market and not be undercut by the middle man. James believed that farmers should be able to sell their grain to whomever they wanted be it in Canada or the United States.
In 1903 James formed the Virden Grain Growers’ Association and then travelled around the province to encourage other communities to do the same. James told them that the money they received for their grain should go to them and not to the grain dealers and railway promoters. James was named the President of the VGGA but stepped down within the year due to health issues.
MGGA chapters formed all over the province. In an unprecedented move, in 1912 James also allowed women to be associate members and in 1914 women were recognized as full voting members.
James was also a founding member of the Grain Grower Grain Company which later became the United Grain Growers. It was later one of the biggest grain companies in Canada with hundreds of elevators in prairie towns whose profits were shared by its members. James was a very successful man with a big history in this province. He had many more accomplishments in his life.
1n 1918 after dealing with years of illness, James and his sister travelled to California. Upon their returned they settled into a house in Virden where he lived until James passed away on April 24, 1926. Upon James retirement from farming he sold the farm to a young man from Scotland who then sold the farm to a member of the family that currently owns the land. That man died at the farm in 1948 in a farming accident.
The railway was removed in 1954.
James improved the lives of many farmers, ensuring that they, like himself were paid fairly for their hard work. In one final contribution James donated $10,000 (said to be valued into today’s currency at more than $140,000) toward Virden town development and $5,000 towards the Virden Hospital.
Believe it or not, it is said that James is barely remembered in the Virden area.
Years ago I found this house while visiting something else in the area. I put it on my to-do list but never went back. The front was overgrown with caragana and I don’t like tall grass when I can’t see where my feet are going!
Christian and I were cruising around this area a few weeks ago and he spotted it from the road. I had forgotten about it but was glad he seen it and pulled in for a couple shots of it.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to find anything about the first homesteaders or anyone who has come after that.
I wonder if they planned to come back for this boat.
When I first saw this house posted online by another bando hunter, I immediately put it on my list to see. Back in May, a fellow bando hunter and I went there. One thing I did notice was the two lightning rods that were once attached to the house are now gone and the swinging door has one again closed itself, or maybe it had help.
Mr., born in England, immigrated to the United States and then ended up here in 1894. Upon his arrival he purchased this section of land. He met his wife when he got to Manitoba and they married in Brandon. From this union 3 girls were born. In 1902 he sold the farm to his brother-in-law and moved to town and purchased shares within the local flour mill and worked for many years in the community.
The history of the brother-in-law’s family is far more in depth but doesn’t really confirm anything about this house. Their earliest recorded history is 1196. In 1756 the family changed the spelling of their name, which really wasn’t that uncommon back then. The family are said to be the equivalent of English Feudal Lords and were the Lords of Duersen and Lissel in the Province of Brabant which is in the Netherlands. The earliest record of an ancestor coming to America was 1630. The earliest record on one coming to Canada was 1756 when they immigrated to Ontario. It is said that one of the children, at a young age, was lost in the woods and never found.
Now this is where it gets tricky. This family farmed on the NW corner of this section which would explain how this family is connected and how the original landowner met and married his wife. When they moved from the land to town to operate the flour mill, he sold the land to his brother-in-law. It is recorded that a farm on this land burnt down in 1916 when the family was away in Ontario. They lost everything in that fire.
I cannot confirm if this is a rebuild of the original home or if the house that burnt down was on another quarter of this section. Regardless this is quite the house. Unfortunately, it was not easy to photograph from the front given the tree line. And honestly, I didn’t even look at it from the back.
This is a neat old house which I thought would have been quite fancy for its time with its porch and upstairs deck. It certainly wasn’t your typical style home. The floors were caving in so we just peeked through the windows but inside there was plenty of old things to see.
It definitely goes up there on one of the neatest houses I’ve been to.
This sign is one of the coolest things I’ve seen given that it actually states when the homestead came to be. I have removed some of the information from this sign which gives away its location. I love that this sign confirms when this homestead came to be.
John & Mary, both born in Scotland in 1847 and 1845 immigrated to Ayr, Ontario in 1868 where they lived for 9 years. In 1877 they made their way to Manitoba by Red River cart and arrived in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba where they remained for 4 years.
In 1880 Mr. filed for this homestead and was one of the homesteaders in this district. That summer he built a soddy and the following year he moved his family here. Mr. & Mrs. raised 9 children on this land. For several years that soddy was a stop-over or half-way house for other farmers moving grained from Deloraine to Brandon. It was here that they would replenish their supplies and rest.
This house was built in 1885 and was last recorded to be owned by Mr. & Mrs. grandson, W. Jack.
Mr. & Mrs. retired to Victoria, B.C. in 1912.
All 9 of their children attended Millerway School which was built in 1884.
The couple had a happy life together and celebrated their golden wedding anniversary in 1919 (50 years) and their diamond wedding anniversary in 1929 (60 years).
Mr. passed away in March of 1931.
Mrs. passed away in August, 1935.
The best thing about a bando house hunt is when I find old cars there.
The original homesteaders of this property came to this land at the turn of the 19th century. The first official recording that they were the landowners is dated 1901. Owned originally by one of the brothers of this family, the first brother to own this land, William, turned the sod making it ready for farming and construction of a forever home.
In 1904 William sold the land to his brother James who lived here until he retired. At that time he son, namesake of his uncle and his dad, took over.
This property has a long drive and is beautifully treed. This is also the spot where Christian and I got most of our wood ticks that day. I’m sure that we picked off at least 50 at the end of this driveway before we got back in the vehicle.
In 1920 this land was sold Mr. Taylor but then repurchased it. James later sold the land again, this time moving to a different district to farm, but again bought the land back. It does not state why the land was sold but it does say it was purchased back due to adverse conditions.
James and his wife Bessie raised three children, mostly on this homestead. In 1930 they retired from active farming and moved to the closest town. Mr. died in September, 1953 and Mrs. not long after in April, 1954.
This was not the first house we went to on this day that was suffering from the same sort of decay. I am going to make the assumption that at one time, these were brick homes. In an effort to modernize them, stucco was applied over the brick. With time, the roof began to leak and the water ran between the two layers causing this deterioration to happen.
Inside the house we could see the remains of furniture and a bookshelf with puzzles and games.
Back to that day when Christian and I went out, one of the first houses we stopped at on our venture was this one.
Visible from the road, this was an easy stop. After fiddling around with my camera for a bit we got ourselves on the other side of the trees.
This big old two story house with the missing door upstairs wouldn’t want to be something I came across at night time. I wasn’t at all freaked out here but with the dead trees in the front, I could see how one would be.
The history I found on this homestead is not of the original homesteaders. That is of course somewhat disappointing to me but its better than nothing. That being said, here we go. The second homesteader of this land immigrated to Canada in 1903. Born in 1881 in Country Cork, Ireland, he moved to the area and married in 1908. Having worked for many farmers in the area and renting land to farm, he moved from the land he originally lived on and in 1921 eventually moved to Neepawa. In 1927, Mrs. passed away and he came back to the area.
In April, 1928 to be exact, the family moved back to Elgin, Manitoba but he again rented land. It wasn’t until 1942 that him and his children moved to this homestead.
Mr. retired from farming in 1951 at the age of 70 and moved to Brandon where he lived until he passed away in 1964. Mr. and his wife raised 6 children on various farms in the area as well as in Neepawa. Upon Mr.’s retirement, his youngest son and his wife took over this farm and raised their family here.
The first recorded landowner recorded for this section of land is 1889 but there is no family history. So, I don’t know who built this house. Regardless, she’s a beauty.
In 1906 Mr. quit his job at the chair factory in Orangeville, Ontario to move to the area. He boarded a freight train with the machinery, furniture and household effects of the Anderson Family. Upon his arrival to the area he was hired as a farm hand on another farm. In 1911 he rented this land from the previous landowner.
In January, 1912 he married Helen, the daughter of the family whom he traveled with to the area with their belongings. They bought the land and lived there until 1954.
When they left the land they retired to Melita. During his active years Mr. was on the school board in the area and was a counsellor for 13 years. Their youngest son took over the farm and raised his family here.
Before marrying Mr., Helen was a school teacher at Brown’s School from 1909 to 1911. She began teaching at 16 years of age.
While walking up to this property we discovered that the Souris River runs through it. The water was full of ducks and small birds. In the distance I could hear an owl taunting me but I could not spot it.
There were two houses on this property . This newer house must have been what the family moved into when the original farm house was no longer livable. I love that the house was preserved to some extent.
Mr. & Helen raised 9 children on this farm, 4 boys and 5 girls. Mr. passed away in 1963 and the history that I found for this family was written on May 26, 1982 by Helen who was in her 90th year. I visited this house on May 13, 2023.
At the time that Helen wrote her family’s history, there were 25 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren.
Then the 30’s rolled around and the family faced the depression, the dust bowl and the grasshoppers. At the time the family had a car, a piano and a telephone. Mr. sat down with his family and said something had to go. Helen said that the telephone had to stay, in case of an emergency. The children all wanted to piano for entertainment. So, Mr. put the car up on blocks and parked it. The family relied on a Bennett Buggy for transportation.
I did find this one strange piece of equipment in the yard. I took a photo of it with the hopes that my husband could identify what it might be but he wasn’t sure.
Now I’m wondering if the old car is somewhere on this property. Maybe the owl was trying to lure me further into the yard in the tall grass and treed area so I would see it!
TJB was born in 1872 to Empire Loyalist parents in DeCewsville, Ontario. TJB moved to Canada in 1892 in what was referred to as a “harvest excursion”.
What is an Empire Loyalist? Due to the American Revolution, approximately 8,000 Brits came to Canada and migrated to an area in Southern Ontario. Those people were among the first white settlers of the province and were instrumental to creating the Province of Upper Canada 1791.
Christian and I were on our way home for the day after an almost 11 hour day hunt and shoot. We had just finished up and the well groomed yard when he remembered this place which had some old cars which he knows I also enjoy photographing. It was getting pretty dark so we weren’t sure what we were going to get. Again, I wasn’t sure what I was going to get in this lighting and I also underestimate what I can do. That am I’m not much of a risk taker because don’t want to miss a shot.
In 1894 TJB married Emma in Deloraine. Emma was the first woman to live in Medora. The first home they built was where the Medora Service parking lot is now and they lived there until 1903.
TJB played for the local baseball team and was a goalie for a football team. He was the secretary for the Sunday School and the Literary Society. As well, he was a member of the Orange Lodge. The Orange Lodge is a group of Protestants who were committed to the protection of the principals of the Protestant Reformation and the Glorious Revolution of 1698 which enshrined civil and religious liberty for all. The Orange Lodge has existed in Canada since at least 1812.
Emma was a very involved in working with the church and was a life-member of the Women’s Institute. Emma was also a well known dress-maker.
From what I have read or found about this property, I can’t tell you anything about these old trucks nor can I link them to this family.
During my old car photo shoot, Christian was wandering around the house so I thought I had better get over there and take some photos before it was way too dark.
Here is where I get a confused by what history I have found. It says that TJB built the house in 1903 which is now owned by another farmer in the area. “This old house was moved to the farm.” So is this the house that was built on the service lot in Medora and moved here or was the house built on the service lot sold to the other farmer and he moved it to his own farm? Regardless, she is a big old beauty.
TJB and Emma raised 5 children on the homestead. Their oldest son George who was born in 1897 later left this property to his only son when he retired and moved to Medora in 1974.
TJB passed away on June 8, 1930 and Emma passed away on August 14, 1962.
The furthest I can go back on this property is 1922 when this property was bought by Jack & his wife. Married in 1908 the couple lived six miles south of Medora where they raised four children. In 1922 they moved to this property but I cannot confirm whether or not they built this house or if it was there when they bought the land.
Jack was born in Shropshire, England on February 5, 1879. He came to Canada in April, 1906 and met and fell in love with his wife. She was born in Montgomershire, Wales and also immigrated to Canada in 1906. Jack passed away in 1962 and his wife in 1965. Their only son took over this land.
Born in January 1913, C.S. received all of his school in the area. Fond of sports, he was active in hockey, curling and baseball. He farmed his parents land until he sold same in the Spring of 1969 when his nephew took it over.
A few years later, C.S’s nephew’s Grandson took over the land and I believe he still owns it today.
After a day of wood ticks, this stop was a blessing. The ride in was easy and the grass all around the house was cut. It was a nice change for the day. The dreary, cloudless, grey sky we had shot all day wrapped up with this beautiful sunset. This house had been on my to-do list for a long time and I’m happy that I finally got to it.
JFA, born in Ontario in 1850 followed his father to Clearwater, Manitoba in 1881. The following year he came to this property with his wife. Here they raised a family of 8.
It is said that JFA was the first settler to build a home in this township and range. He built a home of logs for his large family.
The homestead remained in the family and eventually, JFA’s grandson took over the farm where he lived with his wife. BA lived here with his wife Mary but they never had a family of their own.
I wonder if this is the original structure, refinished or if this is a new build all together. There was a garage on this site not far from the house with an old Ford truck parked in front of it. Not far off the drive was an old combine up against some trees. The grass was very tall and think and I wasn’t going to chance it.
I think this is a pretty big house for its time. I would love to see the inside. I would love to see what it looked like in its glory.
This is another property I have driven by a million times and have never stopped at. I did two properties in one day and guess what? No history on this one either.
So here is a photo dump of this little property that kept on giving. I thought I was going for this house.
We passed by an old ice cream sign and some old bottles.
At this point Cade has already taken off to check out an old Mac truck.
It don’t think I’ve ever found one in such nice condition and it was even more shocking that the dog was still attached.
To my surprise I had stumbled upon a little old truck/tractor resting spot. Wahoo, old cars and bando houses. Why didn’t I stop here sooner.
Not sure what happened here but it made a good photo.
Then I found this. I am sure that this is some sort of old store. When I asked the current owners, they didn’t have a whole lot of information to provide.
And then I found this. This made my day. So enjoy this photo dump. If I ever find more info about this location and the little “store” I’ll be sure to update.
Have I ever mentioned before how much I hate hydro lines at a bando site?
I have driven by this house a hundred times and last Fall, Cade took me to this location to shoot it once and for all. We are asked to please shut the gate and watch for wasps.
The house is in remarkably good condition and wasn’t too bad to get to. We drove right up to it actually. I did get bit by something while getting a shot of the back of the house. Nothing serious. Stung for a bit and left a little mark. The round window above the kitchen on the wide of the house says 1910 which I am assuming is the year the home was built.
I loved the little window on the top of the house and the little “fence” at the top.
Of course, this is another house that I cannot find any history on and that is why it has taken me so long to post the photos. So, here they are. What I do know is that this land was claimed by its first homesteader in 1888. He is recorded as living here with his wife and 5 children. The land changed ownership in 1905 and maybe this particular house was built in 1910. If ever I come across something more concrete, I will definitely update.
This stone church, formerly known as St. George’s Anglican Church was fifty-six feet long, twenty wide and twenty tall is located approximately 5 miles from the Saskatchewan border and 2 miles from North Dakota. The organization and fundraising efforts to build this church were headed by Goddard Gale and construction of same began in 1890 by Mr. William Cornwallis. Two years later in September 4th, 1892 the church was consecrated by Bishop Robert Machray.
Goddard Gale was an artist from London and the son of a well-known barrister and a cricket player. Goddard is also rumored to be the first “white man” to set eyes on Lake Louise. Mr. Gale was a surveyor and engineer for the Canadian Pacific Railway and a staunch Anglican. When he took up residence is what was once known as Butterfield, he became a community leader and a council member for the RM of Arthur. Arthur is what this area of the province was before it was split into three smaller municipalities. In 2015 it was then reunified into one large RM known now as Two Borders.
When Mr. Gale started fundraising for the church on this 4.6 acres of land, stones were gathered as he wrote letters back home to his friends where he told them this would be the first Anglican church west of the Souris River.
As settlement started dwindling, church attendance also waned. In June, 1913 the church was deconsecrated. Some of the contents of the church were taken to a new building in Pierson but the organ and photos were taken to Eunola School.
Locals from the area told stories about Prohibition and how given the location close to the American border and the very isolated location of the now vacant church, it became an attractive hideout to bootleggers. I certainly didn’t get any Al Capone vibes while here.
Upon our arrival at the church, the sun was blaring, there were no clouds in the sky. I was a tad bit disappointed. Back at the start of Covid, Cade, Makenna and I drove out this way with the intention of visiting this location. We ended up heading North after a stop in Elva and I didn’t think I would ever make my way down here again. Yesterday a fellow bando hunter took me down here to do some touring. I’m glad he did. And I’m glad the sunset improved. Within fifteen or so minutes after our arrival, the infamous “golden hour” revealed itself.
After years of abandonment and vandalism, in 1932 the windows and doors of the church were boarded up in an effort to save the building. Inside the structure are obvious signs of a fire. I would have loved to have seen this place before Mother Nature and vandalism took hold.
In 1967 it was recorded that the building was still intact.
Driving around this area, there are very few cars and people. In the late 19th and 20th centuries, it is said that the government did all they could to entice people to this area. It is said that people from Britain and Northern Europe were heavily recruited. During the recruiting process no one took into consideration the climate these people would endure here on the wide open prairies nor did they consider if farming on this land would prove successful before they made their way to Canada from abroad.
And then there is this old truck. I will admit, at first I was a bit more excited about this old truck than I was the old church. What role this old truck plays to this historical site is beyond anyone’s knowledge. I googled it, but not to thoroughly, so I’m just going to pretend that a bootlegger parked his truck here to hide out in the church and then had to escape by foot and never came back for it. Its perfect right where it is and has been subject to many photographs in its time, as this old field stone church as its backdrop.
Here is another house I photographed back in the late summer of 2020. It is another one that I cannot find any concrete history on so, I’m just going to leave it here and if that ever changes, I’ll re-write my post and share its story.
This home is well hidden. It was rented out for a time but once the last tenants moved it was quickly taken over by Mother Nature. I did not get close as the vegetation was quite high and I was alone. Better to be safe than sorry. I know that Cade’s aunt worries about me alone on these excurisons and the possibility of there being a well, so I err on the side of caution.
CRUMBLING MEMORIES 