Historic Sites of Manitoba: Demonstration Farm House (44 Water Street, Killarney, RM of Killarney-Turtle Mountain)

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.

Farm Superintendents

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)

Photos & Coordinates

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 Penner Site 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

Sources:

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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