Link to:
Farm Superintendents | Photos & Maps | Sources
A two-storey wood frame residence in Killarney, a municipally-designated historic site (1992) in the Rural Municipality of Killarney-Turtle Mountain, was the home of the manager for an agricultural demonstration facility established sometime between 1913 and 1915 by Killarney resident George Lawrence when he was Manitoba’s Minister of Agriculture and Immigration. The purpose of the facility was to identify and promote farming practices and crop varieties suited to this region of the province. The demonstration farm was closed in 1946 and this building was later used as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police barracks, a private school, and a museum. As of 2016, it is being renovated for use as a local arts centre.
Period
Farm Superintendent
1915-1916
Nelson Stewart Smith (1888-1941)
1917-1920
Harry Ewart Walker (1882-1961)
1920-1927
Ernest Sidney Hayter
1927-1947
Harry Ewart Walker (1882-1961)
Demonstration Farm House (circa 1916)
Source: Annual Report of the Department of Agriculture and Immigration, 1916, Legislative Library of Manitoba, page 124.
Demonstration Farm House with its original verandah (September 2012)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Demonstration Farm House with restored verandah in preparation for installation of new windows and interior renovations (May 2017)
Source: Gordon Goldsborough
Demonstration Farm House after renovations are complete (July 2019)
Source: George PennerSite Coordinates (lat/long): N49.17502, W99.67055
denoted by symbol on the map above
See also:
Memorable Manitobans: George Lawrence (1857-1924)
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Abandoned Manitoba
Marriage registration [Ernest Sidney Hayter], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
“Killarney folk farewell Hayter,” Manitoba Free Press, 29 October 1927, page 8.
Obituary [Nelson Stewart Smith], Winnipeg Free Press, 17 March 1941, page 2.
The Ministry of Agriculture in Manitoba, 1870-1970 by J. H. Ellis, Winnpeg: Manitoba Department of Agriculture, December 1970, pages 252-255.
Demonstration Farm House, 44 Water Street, Killarney, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.
We thank Kim Langen, Eunice Buhler, Monica Ball, and George Penner for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 22 January 2022
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