A monument in the Municipality of Russell-Binscarth, dedicated in 1999, is situated near the former site of the Barnardo Industrial Farm. Dr. T. J. Barnardo visited Western Canada in 1884 and chose this site. The enterprise opened in 1888, under the management of Edmund Amos Struthers, and eventually covered over 10,000 acres. It consisted of various barns for stock, poultry and hay, gardens, slaughterhouse, creamery, and cheese factory. A massive, three-storey residence housed up to 100 boys. The manager’s home at “Cherry Hill” was located at 31-20-28W, about a half mile northwest of the farm yard.
The farm was visited by two Governors General: Lord Viscount Stanley in 1889 and the Earl of Aberdeen in the 1890s. Dr. Barnardo visited it three times before his death in 1905, by which time over 800 boys had been trained at the farm. Then, a change in policy resulted in the boys being placed as apprentices directly in farmers’ homes, making the large facility unnecessary. The last boys left the facility in 1907 and the last of the land was sold in 1911.
Barnardo Home (1888)
Source: Archives of Manitoba, Russell - Schools - Barnardo Home #1.
Milking cattle at the Barnardo Home (1902)
Source: The Nor-West Farmer, 5 July 1902, page 559.
Barnardo Industrial Farm commemorative monument (June 2012)
Source: Gordon GoldsboroughSite Coordinates (lat/long): N50.75205, W101.34607
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: Thomas John Barnardo (1845-1905)
Memorable Manitobans: Edmund Amos Struthers (1855-1935)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Barnardo Cemetery (Municipality of Russell-Binscarth)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Tom Naylor’s Skylark (Delta, RM of Portage la Prairie)
We thank Leona Devuyst for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 3 October 2023
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