Its been a while. And to make matters worse, I shot this house in 2023! I need to get it together.
That being said, let’s start with a house that I can’t tell you a whole lot about, mainly because the archives are sparse and the details are shrouded in mystery. The first family I could find any history about was the third owner of the land, who purchased the estate in the early 1900s.
Born in Northern Ireland in 1893, he spent his early years surrounded by the lush green hills and rich culture of his homeland. In 1912, seeking new opportunities, he moved to Canada, where he initially farmed for a local landowner, experiencing the challenges and rewards of rural life in a foreign land. However, in 1915, with a strong sense of duty and patriotism, he enlisted to serve in the war, joining the Field Ambulance Militia, where he played a crucial role in providing medical support to soldiers in France amidst the chaos of battle. After several grueling years of service, he returned to his home area in 1923, bringing with him not only memories of his experiences but also a renewed perspective on life. It was during his time overseas that he met Beatrice, whom he married soon after settling back in Canada, eager to start a new chapter together.
DK and Beatrice raised two daughters, both of whom were born in this home, and retired from farming in 1949, after many years of hard work and dedication to their land. The home was filled with laughter and love, as the family created cherished memories together, celebrating milestones such as birthdays and holidays in the warmth of their rural setting. Their daughters grew up immersed in the values of hard work, perseverance, and the importance of family, which were instilled in them by their parents through countless lessons learned on the farm. As their farming days came to an end, DK and Beatrice looked forward to new adventures in retirement, reflecting on a life well-lived while maintaining connections with their community and the land they had nurtured for so long.
On this day we had a little friend out with us. The neighbouring farm dog joined us on our walk out to the house. Honestly, given my fear of dogs, I was more concerned about the bull that was watching us from across the pasture! We survived.
There is no history on the first homesteaders of this land even though they owned the property for 14 years. From what I have gathered, they owned this land but did not live on it.
In the 1900’s Mr Fraser acquired this land but raised his family on another section close by. They had a large family and when their son married, he moved his new wife here. Together they farmed this land and raised a family of their own.
When the couple were too old to farm the land anymore, their daughter and her husband took over the land. They did not live on the land either and eventually one of their two sons took over the land.
This does not look like a home to me but a school. There was a school on the section of land next to this one. Unfortunately I cannot find any mention of it being moved here.
I will admit that it does look like some of the other schools in the area. It has a different entrance, but that is speculation and I cannot confirm.
Well, today I finally finished up the car folder from the photos I took back in October, 2023.
I will certainly go back this Spring/Summer. I did not have enough time to walk the entire lot when I went the first time.
Like I said before, I have never seen anything like this. You see areas on properties littered with cars but this man has a system. Everything is marked and parts are organized.
If you are an old car enthusiast, he likely has what you need.
Loading these photos made me think of my neighbour. He has an old truck that he restored and if my memory serves me correctly, his dad had a truck just like it. I took his son’s grad photos with. I’m going to have to ask him if he knows about this place.
The next time I go, I’ll take Christian along. He isn’t as enthusiast about the old cars but I know he will take some amazing shots here.
I don’t recall if I mentioned the little dog that lives here. He did explore with me for a little bit.
You can see him in the photo above. He wasn’t interested in me for very long and if my memory serves me correctly, he was deaf.
These photos are all taken on the house section of the land. There are still two quarters to discover. I certainly did not give myself enough time when I planned this trip. I had no idea how many cars were really here.
I give the old car guys a lot of credit. To take an old car, restore it, hunt for parts. The time and dedication and money it would take to make it va-va-voom again!
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.
T. W. arrived in Canada from Arthur, Ontario in 1885. He settled on this property and in 1907 married Jennie. Together they had 10 children, all of 1 which was born on this farm. And sadly, two of those children there stillborn.
In 1942 T. W. sold the farm to his nephew and he and his bride moved to town. He passed away in 1951 at the young age of 74.
Not a great photo given that it was taken from the road with my 300mm but you can’t pass up shot of an old, abandoned house.
Richard Wilson moved with his father, step-mother, siblings and step-siblings to the Marringhurst Plains in the RM of Argyle. Richard’s parents were originally from York, England where theiy married but then moved to Ontario where Richard and his sister were born. Richard chose this property to homestead on. He then married his wife Annie in 1863 and together they would raise a family of 8 on this homestead.
The first house on the property was a log home built by Richard upon his arrival to the Marringhurst Plains. At that time he also erected buildings for his livestock. In 1909, the Wilson’s built this “stately” two-storey, red brick home to replace the original log farmhouse.
In 1898 at the tender age of 34 years, Annie died leaving Richard with many children to raise. Richard married Annie’s sister, Louisa and together they had 3 more children.
The children grew up and went off to operate their own farms and raise their own families and by 1970 the home stood empty.
The home has been restored to its original grandeur and renamed the Marringhurst House. The home now operates as a turn of the century farm house museum and is open upon request for tours.
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.
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.
Joe came to Canada with his parents and settled in the Carberry area in approximately 1883. Only a few years after their arrival, Joe’s mother passed away and the family made the decision to move west. The little town of Broomhill was named by them as it was reminiscent of a small town near their home in Scotland.
Joe and his father and siblings travelled by ox team approximately 135 kilometers to Broomhill. Joe settled on this land and just a few years later in 1895 married Janet. Together they raised two children. Unfortunately Janet passed away in 1908.
On July 17, 1915 Joe remarried and together they had one son, William. William was born at this homestead.
Joe and his brother Will had a contract to build a section of the grade for the new railway. Aside from that, Joe farmed but also helped Will run the general store which Will built and operated in the townsite of Broomhill in 1908.
Joe was a huge supporter of the community and was a school trustee for many years. He was a beekeeper, he loved to travel and watch sports. Joe moved to Broomhill in 1919 when his brother passed away to manage the general store.
In 1919 Alex and his family moved to this land and made it at home with his family. History says that upon their arrival to the home it was noted there was a large patch on the west side of the house. Said hole was made by a team of runaway horses and the end result was the tongue of the sleigh going through the house.
In March 1920 there was a severe, 3 day winter storm. As a result of the accumulated snow, there was no school and the drifts around the farm were very high. So high in fact that Alex could not get into the barn like he usually would so he had to use the Gothic windows and access the inside of the barn with his milk pails to tend to the cows.
Alex passed away at the home in 1944 only two years after his retirement from farming.
In 1948 the Talman family from Fertile, Saskatchewan purchased this homestead. Marion was a renowned dog trainer and because of this the headquarters for the field trials were held at this farm.
There are two houses on this property and I am going to assume that the second was the home of Marion’s oldest son and his wife who moved to the land shortly after his parents when their home in Fertile caught fire.
Alex and Annie served their community in many ways and were honored for their contributions to the many orgainzations that they volunteered their time to.
Its nice to find a rich history on a property after you’ve been to it and photographed it. When we were at this farm, I contemplated taking a photograph of the old barn and I’m happy I did because, while it doesn’t happen often, someone thought to mention it in their family history.
I thought I’d take a drive a few weeks back and check on an old house that is starting to feel its age and neglect.
The first time I was at this house (I’ve gone many times) she had a bit of a lean but she was standing up pretty straight considering. I seriously contemplated going inside but didn’t because I could see just about everything from the windows.
Over the years I have considered taking grad photos at this house but I never have. Maybe I will take the 2025 grads over here for a few shots and see what I get. Or maybe this house will be gone by then.
I’ll keep checking in periodically to see how she is making out.
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.
Mr. arrived in Manitoba from Ontario in 1881 and was one of the earliest pioneers in this area. He was set to acquire the SW corner of this section but settled on the SE corner instead. He later purchased more land. The home became a halfway house for travelers in the area where they were sure to find rest, a cup of tea, a bite to eat and a place to sleep if need be.
Mr. & Mrs. were devout members of the Protestant Church. They raised 4 boys and one girl on this farmstead until Mr. passed at the age of 68 in 1915. Mrs. passed away in 1925 at the age of 83 years old. After Mr.’s passing, Mrs. went on to live with one of her sons.
After the death of Mr. one of the sons returned to the homestead and took over. The family had always owned a steam threshing outfit which serviced the areas. It was a huge operation and farmers waited weeks for the service. The operation took the help of several employees and so the new housewife was very busy feeding the men who helped her husband run the threshing machines.
This barn was built in 1916. Many dances were held in the loft and in particular, a masquerade dance was had when the barn was new. The new homesteaders were very active in their community, very hospitable and loved company. They had their 25th wedding anniversary in this barn and the wedding dance of their daughter when she married.
We visited this house as the sun was setting. We had to walk in, fast, because we were running out of light and I didn’t have my tripod with me. This property has been on my list for a very long time as there was a car parked near a small barn by the house and it make for some very cool photos.
As luck would have it, the car is gone. I would have taken a photo of the car and the house from right around this location. This is what happens when you procrastinate. Regardless, the sunset on my way out of the property did not disappoint and so it wasn’t a total loss.
In case you didn’t know, the Assiniboine Park Zoo offers a Behind the Scenes program during the summer months. Off the top of my head, you can see seals, polar bears, snow leopards and tigers.
For around $100.00 (this includes an hour BTS and your zoo admission) you can choose to learn more about some of the animals at the zoo. On July 15th, Colton took me to see the seals, which is one of his favorite animals.
We entered into the usually unauthorized door at the Journey to Churchill Building and went upstairs to the area where the zoo employees train, feed and treat the seals. Inside this building, two male seals were waiting for us. This is Emil. His co-performer who we didn’t get a photo with is Gabbers. He is what they consider a dwarf seal because he didn’t develop properly. His flippers are smaller than they should be AND he didn’t develop a mouth full of teeth.
During our hour we asked the seals to perform some tasks for us which included touching his nose to the target, rolling over and splashing us. All with hand signals. We even got to feed them.
When it came to my turn to have Emil roll over, he wouldn’t. After a handful of tries, he finally did and then I got to feed him a fish for his efforts.
During our time inside, the seals did come out of the water and came right up to our feet. We were advised before the event began that if a seal did approach us, we were not permitted to touch it although they may touch us. That didn’t happen.
We were permitted to take photos but only when the trainers okayed it. We didn’t really need to though because one of the zoo employees was taking photos the entire time and then emailed them to us for free. She did a great job and was sure to make sure she got a shot of everyone.
We then moved outside to the top of the Journey to Churchill seal exhibit. This is where you see them swimming around before you go out the sliding doors and just outside the doors. Up there we got to meet Neptune who is considered to be the leader of the 7 male seals at the zoo. I will add that all of these seals are there because they were either injured (Neptune only has one eye) or were unable to care for themselves in the wild and would have otherwise died. 5 of the zoos seals are from British Columbia and two are from Germany.
I have to add that when we got outside, one of the bears was very curious about us being up there. This bear was identified as Willow.
At this point I could have turned my attention to the bears but I knew that I was going to be back here in a few days for the polar bear BTS. So we talked some more about the seal program, whether the zoo would take in anymore seals, which the ladies said they didn’t want to as they felt that the 7 was a good number. It is their opinion that at this time every seal was getting what they needed and there is currently harmony in the tank.
Willow was not giving up though. She kept getting closer and close to us to see what we were doing.
This is a great program. We were told a lot about the zoo, its seal program and we were able to ask a lot of questions. There wasn’t a question that they weren’t able to answer. I highly recommend it and, all of the proceeds go back to the animal program you attend.
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.
CRUMBLING MEMORIES 