Bell Farm

Infobox Historic building
name=Bell Farm


caption=
map_type=
latitude=
longitude=
location_town=Indian Head
location_country=Canada
architect=
client=
engineer=
construction_start_date=1882
completion_date=
date_demolished=April 2008
cost=
structural_system=Limestone
style=Round Barn
size=20 meters, 67 feet diameter

Bell Farm is a heritage farm built in 1882 by Major Bell on ten miles square or 60,000 acres at Indian Head. [cite web
last = Hawkes
first = John
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Gigantic farms and failures The Big Bell Farm
work = Saskatchewan Gen Web Project - SASKATCHEWAN AND ITS PEOPLE by JOHN HAWKES Vol 1I 1924
publisher = Adamson, Julia
date = 1924 republished 30-August-2002
url = http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cansk/SaskatchewanAndItsPeople/Volume2/farms.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-08-26] The Bell Farm Barn is amongst the ten top most endangered sites by the Heritage Canada Foundation.sp [Citation
last = Wray
first = Erin
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title =Vanishing History -
journal = National Geographic
volume =
issue =
pages =
date = July - August, 2006
year = 2006
url =
doi =
id = ] The round structure consisted of a silo which could be used also as a lookout tower. The silo had a capacity of 4,000 bushels of oats and 100 tons of hay. The surrounding area could house 36 horse and an office.Citation
last = Burton
first = Randy
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = Rich History Sparks Preservation -
newspaper = The StarPhoenix
pages =
year = 2006
date =October 7, 2006
url = http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/] Having the silo centrally located greatly reduced labour involved in livestock feeding and resulted in a stronger facility than the rectangular structures. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Efficiency of the Round Barn
work = Kansas State Board of Agriculture, Eighteenth Biennial Report, 1911-1912, pgs. 139-142.
publisher =
date =
url = http://www.thebarnjournal.org/round/efficiency.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-08-26]

The first settlers moved into the district in 1882, a few months ahead of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The farming operations were so huge and out of the ordinary that, on many occasions, the passenger trains would stop and let the passengers watch the harvesting operation becoming the area's first tourist attraction.

Preserving our heritage

Quotation|Bell FarmThe Bell Farm once occupied the surrounding district. It was controlled by the Qu'Appelle Valley farming company and managed by Major William R. Bell.

Between 1882 and 1889 the company settled more than 100 tenant farmers on 53,000 acres. Farming was attempted on such a large scale that 45 binders were sometimes seen harvesting a single field. In 1883 the company secured and sub-divided the townsite of Indian Head. The farm lost heavily due to severe frost and drought. Its operations were almost completely suspend during the rebellion of 1885. Forty thousand acres were eventually sold to the Brassey Colonization company. Major Bell bought the rest and farmed it or several years. The round stone stable of the Bell Farm stands two miles north on No. 56 highway. The Dominion Experimental arm, one mile east was once part of the farm.

A Saskatchewan Historic Site|Saskatchewan Department of Natural ResourcesCitation
last =
first =
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = Provincial Historic Marker: Bell Farm
date =
year =
url = http://www.bellbarn.ca/history.php
accessdate =2008-08-26 ]

Operations

The first buildings constructed were the 16-room, two-story stone house measuring 34' x 40' with a 23' x 44' wing. Four stone and two frame five-room cottages, complemented the main dwelling along with an ice house, a cow barn, and a chicken house.cite web
last = Leik
first =Charles
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =The Bell-Walker Barn Indian Head, Saskatchewan
work =April Featured Barn
publisher = Material for this article was contributed by Dan Walker, Indian Head, the Bell Barn's current owner.
month = April | year = 2001
url =http://www.thebarnjournal.org/featured/015/index.html
format =
doi = ] The farm was divided into 200-acre portions with a foreman supervising each section. Houses and buildings were built at each area with phone lines connecting the entirety. The phone lines between the 23 cottages on the farm was one of the first two phone lines in the North West Territories. [cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Bell Barn Society
work =
publisher =
date =
url = http://www.bellbarn.ca/archives/bell-farm-house.php
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-08-26] In 1886 the Bell Farm owned 45 reapers, and binders, 78 ploughs, 6 mowers, 40 seeders, 80 sets of harrows and seven steam threshing outfits to plant and harvest five thousand acres of Red Fyfe wheat, oats and potatoes crop. The Bell Farm was a mixed farm enterprise, and the livestock of 1886 comprised 200 horses, 250 cattle and 900 hogs. [cite web
last = Hawkes
first = John
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Gigantic farms and failures The Big Bell Farm
work = Saskatchewan Gen Web Project - SASKATCHEWAN AND ITS PEOPLE by JOHN HAWKES Vol 1I 1924
publisher = Adamson, Julia
date = 1924 republished 30-August-2002
url = http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cansk/SaskatchewanAndItsPeople/Volume2/farms.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-08-26] Wooden grainaries on wheels, grain elevator and flour mill also complemented the Bell Farm.

Major Bell erected a twelve thousand dollar building for an Agricultural College to bring in Dr. Tanner, a noted professor of agriculture. The building was all that materialized from this plan. [cite web
last = Hawkes
first = John
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Gigantic farms and failures The Big Bell Farm
work = Saskatchewan Gen Web Project - SASKATCHEWAN AND ITS PEOPLE by JOHN HAWKES Vol 1I 1924
publisher = Adamson, Julia
date = 1924 republished 30-August-2002
url = http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cansk/SaskatchewanAndItsPeople/Volume2/farms.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-08-26]

Bell Barn Society

Dave Aldous began a campaign to save the Bell Farm when the mortar holding the stones of the Bell Farm House decayed, and the farm house collapsed. A letter from Dave Aldous reached Frank Korvemaker, a provincial heritage official. Korvemaker wrote a book on stone buildings, Legacy of Stone:Saskatchewan's Stone Buildings By Margaret Hryniuk, Frank Korvemaker, and Larry Easton, and from there went on to establish the Bell Barn Society to preserve this historic barn. Korvemaker has had experience with the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation and was instrumental in preserving the Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site.Citation
last =
first =
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = Save the Barn
newspaper = Indian Head - Wolseley News.
pages =Volume 34 Number 18
year = 2008
date = Tuesday August 8, 2006
url = ] Margaret Hryniuk, Frank Korvemaker, and Larry Easton contacted the barn's owner, Dan Walker in 2005.Citation
last =Korvemaker
first =Frank
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title =There is still time to Save the Bell Barn
newspaper =Heritage Quarterly Saskatchewan (formerly FACADE) (Architectural Heritage Saskatchewan)
pages =21
year = 2006
date = Tuesday August 8, 2006
url = ]

The Bell Barn Society of Indian Head was founded in 2006 to raise public awareness, and financial support to restore the Bell Farm Round Barn. The campaign received $50,000 from James Richardson International (JRI)Citation
last =Petrie
first =Ron
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = History stands in ruins
newspaper = The Leader-Post
pages =
year = 2008
date = Monday, August 18, 2008
url = ] towards rebuilding the Bell Farm barn and establishing an interpretive centre for Western Canadian Agriculture.Citation
last =
first =
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title =JRI donates to Bell Barn Society of Indian Head
date =July 23, 2008 12:00:00
year =
url =http://www.jri.ca/news.html?item=425&orderbydate=Y
accessdate =2008-08-26 ] JRI, a Winnipeg company, recently celebrated 150 years of business in Canada. The effort has been supported by the Heritage Canada foundation, the Saskatchewan Architectural Heritage Society, United Empire Loyalies, local historians, schools and businesses.Citation
last =Rhodes
first =Veronica
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title =Residents to Discuss Building Fate -
newspaper = The Leader-Post
pages =
year = 2006
date = August 16, 2006
url = ]

In April 2008, the 126 year old stone farm was dismantled rock by rock. The ground has been leveled to reconstruct the building and engineers will be consulted for depth of piles needed for support. 5 acres of land was acquired from the RM of Indian Head. The town of Indian Head will own the reconstructed site, picnic, and parking facilities.Citation
last =Korvemaker
first =Frank
author-link = BBSIH chair
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title =The Bell Barn Project is a Go -
newspaper =Heritage Quarterly Saskatchewan (formerly FACADE) (Architectural Heritage Saskatchewan)
pages =21
year = 2006
date = October 2006
url = ] A sheet metal roof with 30 square air vents for light and ventilation, surrounds an 8 sided cupola in the center which was the upper extension of the silo and look out tower. The original barn had a unique herringbone pattern wood frame on trusses extending from the center to the stone walls. Reconstruction of the barn alone is estimated at $1 million dollars.Citation
last = Johnstone
first = Bruce
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = Campaign to save historic barn gets cash boost Winnipeg grain firm adds $50,000 to fund
newspaper = The StarPhoenix
pages = A4
year = 2008
date = Thursday, July 24, 2008
url = http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/] An 1883 Bell Farm cottage has been preserved at the Indian Head museum.Citation
last =
first =
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = Trans-Canada Highway: Indian Head, Saskatchewan FoundLocally.com Media Inc
date = 1999-2008
year =
url =http://www.transcanadahighway.com/saskatchewan/IndianHead.htm
accessdate =2008-08-26 ] The provincial and federal governments won't commit to designating the barn with heritage status as it won't be re-constructed on its precise original site.Citation
last =Rogers
first =Diana
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title =Society anxious to restore barn
newspaper = Western Producer
pages =
year = 2006
date = November 23, 2006
url = ] The original site of the Bell Farm will be preserved with the lower one foot of the original building for archaelogical findings. The roof and north wall had already collapsed due to a heavy snowfall during the winter o 2005-2006.

Hon. Dr. Lynda Haverstock, former Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, has been made Honorary Patron. Eric Peterson who portrays Oscar Leroy on the Canadian television sitcom Corner Gas is Honorary Chairman.

Nearby

*Indian Head Bird Sanctuary
*Indian Head Experimental Station
*Indian Head Museum
*Orange Home and Orange Home Farm
*Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) Shelterbelt Centre

Indian Head Location

Legal Land Description: Section 24- Township 18- Range 13-West of the 2nd meridian
Coordinates: 50° 32' 00" N - 103° 40' 00" W

Footnotes

External links

* [http://news.webshots.com/album/554381625ZFPHFA Historic Bell Barn - Indian Head, Saskatchewan, Canada pictures ...]
* [http://www.bellbarn.ca/history.php The Bell Farm Historic Marker]
* [http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/collection/artifacts/VIEW-1384.1&section=196?Lang=1&accessnumber=VIEW-1384.1&section=196 Musée McCord Museum - Ploughing on the Bell farm, Indian Head, SK ...]
* [http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cansk/SaskatchewanAndItsPeople/Volume2/bell4.html Major W. Bell]
* [http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2499426630043153669FsqhAz Harvest Time on Bell Farm Indian Head, North West Territories ...]
* [http://www.nosracines.ca/e/toc.aspx?id=2617 Our Roots / Nos Racines Our Roots / Nos Racines]