Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Agricultural College / Manitoba School for the Deaf / Fort Osborne Barracks / Asper Jewish Community Campus (123 Doncaster Street, Winnipeg)

Link to:
Principals | Instructors | Photos & Maps | Sources

The Manitoba Agricultural College was established in 1905, with the objective of educating students in modern farming practices. The first of its kind in Western Canada, and only the third in all of Canada, the college offered courses in horticulture, agricultural engineering, animal husbandry, farm management, and home economics.

The buildings at the college’s first site, at what would later become part of Tuxedo, were designed by provincial architect Samuel Hooper. The first building, constructed in 1905 by the firm of Kelly Brothers and Mitchell, had three floors and a full basement. It measured 128 feet by 64 feet and was made of stone and brick. The basement contained a gymnasium and bowling alley, kitchen, dining room, storage room, workshops, and caretaker's apartment. On the first floor was an auditorium, two lecture rooms, main offices, and a large laboratory. The second floor had a library, museum, large lecture room, two laboratories, classroom, offices, girls sitting room, and women's toilet and sitting room. Student dormitories occupied the entirety of the third floor.

Buildings added later included Roblin Hall (named for premier Rodmond Palen Roblin) and a brick powerhouse constructed in 1906. By 1913, the college had outgrown the site so it was relocated to a new site in the southern part of Winnipeg, in what later became the Fort Garry Campus of the University of Manitoba. The College was integrated into the University in 1924.

From 1914 to 1917, this site served as home for the Manitoba School for the Deaf, the first such institution in Western Canada. In 1917, it became a military convalescent and rehabilitation hospital for soldiers returning from the First World War. Two years later, the entire complex was taken over by the military and renamed Fort Osborne Barracks, replacing a similarly named facility on the grounds of the Manitoba Legislative. It remained the primary army base in Manitoba until 1968 when new barracks were developed farther south, at Kapyong Barracks.

The property here was reacquired by the provincial government and several of the buildings were converted into offices for government departments. The Administration Building was used as a juvenile court facility. Roblin Hall was demolished in the early 1980s, by which time it had been severely vandalized. Late in the building’s life, purple dye for marking gasoline intended for farm use was stored there, and vandals had made its interior a colourful mess.

The campus became a provincially-designated historic site in 1995. The property was sold in 1997 and redeveloped as the Asper Jewish Community Campus of Winnipeg. The Administration Building and Power House became a municipally-designated historic site in 2018. Plaques at the site erected by the Manitoba Heritage Council commemorate the former Agricultural College, Rabbi Israel Isaac Kahanovitch, and the beginning of the Jewish community in Manitoba.

Principals (Agricultural College)

Period

Principal

1905-1913

William John Black (1872-1941)

After 1913

See Manitoba Agricultural College

Instructors to 1913 (Agricultural College)

Instructors after 1913 are listed here.

Instructor

Subject

Period

Spencer Argyle Bedford (1851-1933)

Field Husbandry

1909-1911

J. E. Bergey

Poultry Husbandry

1915-1913

W. Brandon

Engineering and Mechanics

1909

Frederick William Brodrick (1879-1958)

Horticulture and Forestry

1909-1913

J. D. Charlton

Engineering and Mechanics

1910

Mrs. Charlton-Salisbury

Home Economics

1911-1913

F. G. Churchill

Physics, Mathematics, Soils

1909-1913

M. F. Coglon

Chemistry

1911

David L. Cormack

Carpentry, Woodwork

1911-1913

Frederick Walter Crawford (1889-1967)

Animal Husbandry

1913

W. J. Crowe

Buttermaking

1913

Robert Alexander Cunningham (1888-1918)

Chemistry

1913

Miss B. A. Duncan

Household Economics, Cookery

1911-1913

E. H. Farrell

Milk Testing

1910-1913

W. J. Gilmore

Engineering and Mechanics

1913

A. R. Greig

Engineering and Mechanics

1909

Thomas James Harrison (1885-1964)

Field Husbandry

1913

M. C. Herner

Poultry Husbandry

1913

J. C. Hooper

Botany and Mathematics

1909-1911

C. R. Hopper

English

1913

Vincent William Jackson (1876-1953)

Botany

1913

Annie B. Juniper (?-1933)

Household Science

1910-1911

Margaret Kennedy

Household Arts

1910-1913

Charles Henry Lee (1879-?)

Biology, Botany

1909-1913

Samuel Carson Lee (1872-1926)

Physics

1913

S. D. McGilvary

Veterinary Science

1913

J. A. McGregor

Field Husbandry

1913

P. H. McPherson

Engineering and Mechanics

1909-1910

Robert Milne

Agriculture and Engineering, Farm Machinery

1913

J. W. Mitchell

Dairy Husbandry

1909-1913

L. A. Moorhouse

Field Husbandry

1913

G. W. Morden

Chemistry

1909-1913

W. H. Peters

Animal Husbandry

1909-1913

L. J. Smith

Engineering and Mechanics

1909-1913

George Albert Sproule (1872-1936)

English

1909-1913

Frederick Torrance (1859-1924)

Veterinary Science

1909-1911

I. Villeneuve

Cheesemaking

1913

R. Watt

Blacksmithing

1913

G. G. White

Chemistry, Rural Economics and Farm Management

1909-1913

Gordon W. Wood

Animal Husbandry

1913

Photos & Coordinates

Architectural drawing of the Manitoba Agricultural College

Architectural drawing of the Manitoba Agricultural College (1905)
Source: Winnipeg Tribune, 20 April 1905, page 6.

Postcard view of the Manitoba Agricultural College

Postcard view of the Manitoba Agricultural College (circa 1910)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2006-0152

Postcard view of the Manitoba Agricultural College

Postcard view of the Manitoba Agricultural College (between 1907 and 1913)
Source: Rob McInnes, WP0833

Postcard view of the Manitoba Agricultural College, with Dufferin Hall at left

Postcard view of the Manitoba Agricultural College, with Dufferin Hall at left (circa 1912)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2013-0148

Roblin Hall

Roblin Hall (circa 1912)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2016-0031

Postcard view of the former Manitoba Agricultural College buildings

Postcard view of the former Manitoba Agricultural College buildings (circa 1908)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2014-0318

Postcard view of two buildings from the Fort Osborne Barracks

Postcard view of two buildings from the Fort Osborne Barracks (circa 1917)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2019-0095

Postcard view of the Manitoba Agricultural College Administration Building

Postcard view of the Manitoba Agricultural College Administration Building (circa 1911)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2013-0074

Postcard view of the Fort Osborne Barracks from the north side of the Assiniboine River

Postcard view of the Fort Osborne Barracks from the north side of the Assiniboine River (no date)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough, 2020-0009

Aerial view of the Fort Osborne Barracks

Aerial view of the Fort Osborne Barracks (1923) by Royal Canadian Air Force
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Surveys Branch aerial photographs (A 0262), GR11610, FA 23 - 50.

Aerial view of the Fort Osborne Barracks

Aerial view of the Fort Osborne Barracks (1923) by Royal Canadian Air Force
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Surveys Branch aerial photographs (A 0262), GR11610, FA 23 - 51.

The former Manitoba Agricultural College Administration Building, now part of the Asper Jewish Community Campus

The former Manitoba Agricultural College Administration Building, now part of the Asper Jewish Community Campus (June 2014)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

The former Manitoba Agricultural College Administration Building, now part of the Asper Jewish Community Campus

The former Manitoba Agricultural College Administration Building, now part of the Asper Jewish Community Campus (April 2017)
Source: George Penner

The former Manitoba Agricultural College Power House, now part of the Asper Jewish Community Campus

The former Manitoba Agricultural College Power House, now part of the Asper Jewish Community Campus (January 2022)
Source: George Penner

Manitoba Agricultural College commemorative plaque at the Asper Jewish Community Campus

Manitoba Agricultural College commemorative plaque at the Asper Jewish Community Campus (February 2024)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough

Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.87193, W97.20957
denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Agricultural College / University of Manitoba (Fort Garry Campus, Winnipeg)

Manitoba Organization: Manitoba School for the Deaf

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Fort Osborne Barracks Monument (Tuxedo Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Kapyong Barracks (Grant Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba School for the Deaf (500 Shaftesbury Boulevard, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate / Faith Academy (437 Matheson Avenue, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Provincially Designated Historic Sites

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Agricultural College War Memorial (Fort Garry Campus, University of Manitoba)

Professionalism, Intellectual Practice, and the Educational State Structure in Manitoba Agriculture, 1890-1925 by Jeffery M. Taylor
Manitoba History, Number 18, Autumn 1989

Memorable Manitobans: Israel Isaac Kahanovitch (1872-1945)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Winnipeg Hebrew Free School (Talmud Torah) / German Society Building (121 Charles Street, Winnipeg)

Sources:

“Manitoba's new Agriculture College,” Winnipeg Tribune, 20 April 1905, page 6.

“Kelly Bros., Mitchell Limited,” Winnipeg Tribune, 16 December 1905, page 34.

Provincial Government of Manitoba, Various Public Buildings, Government of Manitoba, circa 1912. [Legislative Library of Manitoba, F5605.4 Pro c.2]

Public Accounts, various years, Legislative Library of Manitoba.

Manitoba Agricultural College (Fort Osborne Barracks Site), 139 Tuxedo Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.

We thank George Penner and Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 2 June 2024

Historic Sites of Manitoba

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