Photography
This old house, perfectly situated in a crop didn’t require us to get any closer than this roadside shot.
While I always want to know more, this was another that left me empty-handed. It happens more often than not.
That being said, it also makes me think about house much longer this hobby is going to last. While I have hundreds of markers of houses to see, more and more landowners are burning them down.
Leaving a roadside stop, we came across this house tucked away in the trees. Taken across the field with my unsteady hand and 300mm I managed to get an okay photo.
I wasn’t too terribly disappointed when I got home and noticed the poor quailty of the shot and made the discovery that there was little to no info on this homestead.
A young couple moved to this property around 1918 and here they raised 5 sons and 1 daughter. They dubbed the property the Graves Estate after the original homesteader who claimed this land in 1882.
I don’t recall how many photos I took, I should count.
Years ago I remember stopping at an old car lot in Saskatchewan along the number one highway. Not nearly as many cars and most were somewhat intact. And I do not recall seeing an area with parts like this lot.
I love this old car and what is was used for.
Imagine firefighters hauling ass down the highway in this?
This one reminds me of one of those old ice cream trucks. They would circle around the residential streets on the nice evenings in the summer.
The original homesteader of this land came to the area in 1881 with his parents and siblings and purchased this land in 1882. In 1890 he left for Australia and there is no recorded record of his return.
Charles came to Manitoba in 1890 with his parents. In 1918 his parents bought this property where Charles grew up and later married, farmed and raised a family of his own.
At this home Charles and his wife raised 5 sons and 4 daughters. Charlie was an active member of the school board and the municipal council. Barbara was a homemaker. It is said that the couple never missed a New Year’s Ball.
The couple retired to Belmont in 1950 when their son took over the farm. Unfortunately Charlie passed away 9 years later leaving Barbara alone until she passed away in 1970.
Charles youngest son, L.D. who had lived on this property since he was 4 years old took over the land and raised 3 kids of his own here.
L.D. and his wife retired to Belmont in 1981. It is my understanding that none of L.D’s children farmed.
Last Fall I attended at this old car lot that has been on my list to shoot for some time. I had no idea how many cars were there and didn’t give myself nearly as much time.
I called ahead to confirm with the landowner that it was okay for me to come. He charged me $20 to wander around his property and take whatever photos I wanted.
Given that I had another engagement to attend to, I did not get around the entire property but do plan on heading there again with Christian. The old cars don’t really interest him so I was happy when he asked if we could come along with me when I went back.
So in order to get all the photos I liked posted, I’ll do a handful every now and then and get them done, hopefully before we go again and I get to finish what I didn’t the first time.
I don’t know a whole lot about cars but there were some really interesting vehicles on this lot. And the organization. Wow.
While I wandered the first part of the yard, I had the property guard dog with me. He was a little hearing impaired Jack Russell named Ketch. He quickly got bored of me and my continous stopping so he ditched me.
The weather was just right the day I went. It was slightly overcast and cool. The leaves were turning but hadn’t completely fallen. Parts of the lot were wet but not enough to get your shoes dirty or make it unmanagable.
I’ll post more in the upcoming weeks.
Its been some time since I’ve checked on this school and because we were in the area, we figured why not. It is not maintained like it was when I first visited.
And I do beleive that the school had far more windows intact when I was there last.
So if you are unfamiliar with the history, here is a quick recap. Built in 1904 this school operated until 1968 when it joined the current school division in the munincipality.
During the 1940s, the building was used for services of the Bannerman Church of Christ. It is my understanding, from a person who grew up and still farms in this area, that a local ladies group owned the school building for a while and held meetings here. Then the RM bought it back and has remained unused since then.
I had to go inside because I remember the inside of the school being in relatively good condition. The school desk and piano remains. And over the years, vistors have written on the chalkboard.
While school is out for summer for most, this place was pretty busy. Upon our arrival, a few birds took off out the windows. And, something was scurrying around in the ceiling. Given that we were blocking the main exit and the ceiling isn’t exactly stable, we left.
I’ll go back again in a few years and see how its making out.
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.
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 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!
George was born in Hartlepool, England in 1837. On December 9th, 1859, he married Isabella and together they raised seven children.
In 1880 they arrived in Barrie, Ontario with the Hunt family. They stayed there for 6 years where they worked at a saw mill.
On April 1, 1886 the entire family moved to Manitoba. They considered stopping in the Red River Valley but worried about clearing all the trees and stopped for a short time in the Hernfield District before settling on this property.
This photograph! Its a total fluke. It was close to dark when we arrived, as you will see from the other photos I post. I had been struggling with camera settings all evening but got this. Cade would like me to blow up and frame this for the living room. Not really my thing, to have my own art on display but I do really like this photo. Cade tells me that its one of his favourites that I have done. I am pleased that this turned out because I actually got a good idea of what this beautiful house looked like. This is by no means close to where I live but I do plan on going back.
Anyways, back to the history. Upon arrival to this area, the family needed to set up a homestead. There were few trees in the area but lots of uncultivated prairie grass. The family set up tents and got to work building a sod house, sod barn and even a sod grainary. I do not know when this house was built. But when they built it, they built it well. There is no shelter belt around the home and stands out in the wide open prairie.
Farmers in this area were said to make a week long round-trip trek to Brandon to sell their grain. They welcomed the arrival of the train to nearby districts which shortened their trip to sell their crops.
The entire family homesteaded in this area. George passed away from cancer in 1894 and Isabella died on February, 1909.
My companion on this trip was adamant that we get to this house and another to capture the sunset. We stood here for awhile as the sun quickly faded below the horizon. The sky changed quickly from the time we left Prohibition Church, made a pit stop at another house and then made our way into this one. Even for the 10 or so minutes that we stood in front of this house, it changed a lot.
I have to admit, I did not enjoy my walk into this property. Lots of badger holes, grass up to my waist in some areas. My exploring buddy led the way, which I am grateful for.
This is near the start of our walk in. I thought I’d like to stay along with field but that didn’t work for us getting back out. God I hate tall grass. I hate when I cannot see where my feet are landing.
I do believe that this is one of the oldest histories that I have found. When I was able to connect a family to this property I was really excited. From the map I am convinced that the other side of this house is just a amazing as this side and I have every intention of making the trek back to see 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.
When I photographed this house, I never expected to find anything interesting about it. In fact, I wasn’t even going to look but I thought what the heck. Well, the first registered homesteader was James Fraser! Of course I instantly thought of Outlander. James Fraser was recorded in the history books as taking ownership in 1895. Of course, I could find nothing about him. The second owner, purchased in 1901 was from Ivernesshire, Scotland!!
Albert and Ada married in 1903 and this was their land. Together they had 5 children. History says that Albert came to Manitoba in 1889 and worked for the local implement dealer. He became quite successful and retired in 1892. Upon his retirement Albert and Ada bought a fruit farm in Victoria, B.C.
After a few years in B.C. Albert heard of the hard times on the prairies of Manitoba and decided to head back and and “get his farms on a paying basis”. Things were going well until the 30’s and many of their groups were deemed worthless. On top of that, Albert sustained an injury wherein he was gored by one of his bull from his large herd of Hereford cattle. Albert was very proud of his herd but the injury would lead to his death. Albert lived a couple months after his injury but his lungs were so badly crushed that he eventually developed pneumonia and passed away in April, 1932.
Three years later Albert’s land produced good crops from the rains the prairies were receiving. One of Albert’s sons went on to work at the elevator in Elva.
Upon our arrival at this property, we weren’t sure what we were going to see. It was a long walk up the drive and I kind of had a feeling there would not be much to see. There were a gazillion grasshoppers along our route and these were the only two photos I took. I’m happy we stopped and I’m happy that I took the time to find a little bit of history on this place.
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.
On the way home from a shoot last August, I found this along the way.
Why its taken me so long to blog, I do not know.
At the end of the day,difference because I cannot find any good history about this big, old beauty.
I never really know what I will find when I photograph an old property. I go and shoot everyything that catches my eye and sometimes I am lucky enough to make a connection to what I read. That is really why I keep doing this.
And sometimes I’ll be working on a history and find a connection to a property that I blogged months before. Its exciting to go back and add those interesting tidbits. Maybe, as I start to explore this area more, I’ll find something.
Regardless, I really liked this old house and the surrounding out buildings and I’m happy I took a detour home that day.
I seen this little church online and thought I’d stop by on one of our roadtrips. There wasn’t a whole lot to see here and I couldn’t find any info on it. I do not know when it was built or when the last service was held here.
The new resident pigeons didn’t seem to mind me taking some photos.
Last weekend I drove out to Holmfield which is not far from us. I was searching for two old trucks that were tucked away in the trees when I was there years ago! I could not find them but I did find this!
I posted this photo on Instagram and it was featured. I regret passing by many of the old vehicles I’ve come across over the years.
The first recorded landowners of this property do not make mention of this land. Born in England, the family immigrated to this area in 1890.
I did find a photograph of the family taken in 1900.
The second recorded land owners came to Canada in 1921 when they decided that the freedom in Canada appealed to them. They packed up what they could carry and escaped Russia. They walked all night with their 4 children, two of which were under the age of two, and had to be carried for most of the journey. They arrived in Latvia and made the journey to Canada. They settled in Alameda, Saskatchewan and in lived there until 1937. Shortly after that they settled on this property.
I will make the assumption that they second recorded land owners did build this home and the land remains the property of the family.
The family started their farming career with several hundred cows. In 1979 they switched back to grain and mixed farming which was what Mr.’s father did when he farmed the land.
This property was conveniently located right at the edge of the highway and I didn’t even get out of the car to take these photos. I found this farmstead in Manitoba on my way to see Colton back in October, 2020.
Mr. & Mrs. K migrated to this area in 1882. Born in 1852 and 1860, under the direction of her brother, arrived in Virden, Manitoba. Here they met Mr. Drysdale who brought them to their land. In 1887 Mrs. bought a neighboring section of land in 1887 from an early homesteader.
The couple raised two boys on this land. Their oldest boy was said to be an avid baseball player in 1903 and 1904 and the family would travel by horse and buggy.
The family farmed for a living and it is said that Mr. drew his first wheat to Souris. This was a 4 day round trip.
The home was well-known as a stop over place for travelers. These travelers were said to put their horses in the barn and knew which room was available to retire in. So even when the family was away, these travelers would make their way inside and retire before they countined on their journey. The family would find out who their visitors were when they came down for breakfast the next morning.
The eldest son of Mr. & Mrs. K was Charles married Nellie who immigrated from Scotland. Two son’s were born of this union. Charles continued to farm his fathers land while his brother married and bought his own land. The brothers continued to work together. Charles sat on the board of directors for the Dalny Pool Elevator. Charles was also the first person in the area to own an automobile which they purchased in 1909. Charlie & Nellie eventually moved to Winnipeg where Charlie became a mechanic. They eventually retired to Vancouver. Charlie passed in 1968 and Nellie in 1982. One of their son’s joined the R.C.A.F as a mechanic and their youngest son moved to California and became a real estate agent.
The next family to own this land doesn’t have any recorded information about their time on this farm.
We visited this house back at the start of Covid. The weather was amazing for mid-April (my sister’s birthday to be exact.) This was another day when we were trying to get somewhere and kept spotting more and more roofs as we went. From the clouds you will likely be able to figure which houses were also shot on this beautiful Spring day.
This old farm house is over 100 years old. I didn’t actually find it myself, a gentleman whom owns the land and some abandoned properties around this one told me about it. When I checked it out the first time 3 or so years ago, it was still too perfect.
The yard site is beautifully maintained but there really isn’t anything left. There is a 3 car garage which is also maintained and still used by the land owner. They clearly have worked hard to preserve this home. Of course, someone always has to do something ridiculous and the front window has been smashed out since the last time I was here. I hope someone didn’t do it purposely.
I cannot tell you which early settler built the home but I can tell you that every family that settled here has been successful. A blacksmith, a breeder of Percheron horses plus endless crops.
I should have gotten closer to this old barn but, I was fighting the sunlight and there was house a mile away that I wanted to see before I had no light left.
Unfortunately my main draw to this property is what I thought was a car way out on the outskirts of the yard, going to the field. When I got back to the land after seeking permission, there was nothing where I thought the vehicle was! That’s what you get for procrastinating.
A couple weeks ago, no more like a month ago, Makenna and I took the side by side down the highway to a little spot where I spotted some cars and stuff.
We found some trucks and cars and cars and lots and lots of lady slippers. Lady slippers make me think of my Grandpa.
We found this beauty and texted Grandpa to see if he could fix this up for Makenna. We figured 4 years notice would be lots of time for him to get it going. He said it was a stretch.
Anyways, here is a collection of some of the photos I took that day. You many not notice but the clouds were glorious that day!
I actually find myself looking for roofs and vehicles now.
CRUMBLING MEMORIES 