This Album documents that portion of the Bell Farm that was sold to, and subsequentyly developed by, Lord Brassey in the late 1880s and 1890s. It includes at least two farms, plus an Anglican Church and Rectory; and a creamery:
- Sunbeam Farm - located southwest of Indian Head
- Canadian Alliance Farm - exact location undetermined
- St John the Devine Anglican Church and Rectory (Bishop's Court)
- Creamery - erected west of Bishop's Court
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01 - St. John Anglican Church and Manse - 1896
General view of the Church and its adjacent two storey rectory. The home for the Anglican Bishop of Qu'Appelle, it was formally known as Bishop's Court. Both buildings were designed by Winnipeg architect Walter Chesterton in 1895, and completed in 1895-96.
SOURCES:
Architect: http://www.dictionaryofarchitectsincanada.org/node/1615
RESEARCH BY:
Margaret Hryniuk, Regina, Saskatchewan; and Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Sask. -
02 - Bishops Court and Anglican Church - colour postcard
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03 - St. John the Divine Church and Bishop's Court
View of the Anglican Church and Bishop's Court from the Dominion Experimental Farm east of Indian Head. The Farm's Superintendent's house stands in the foreground left.
SOURCES:
Dominion Experimental Farm
RESEARCH BY:
Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Saskatchewan. -
04 - St. John the Divine Anglican Church - 1905 magazine cover
Located south of the Canadian Pacific Railway line, St. John's Church was intended to become the focus for a new community to be called "Brassey". Several residences and a creamery were erected nearby, but for most of the years the church and Bishop's Court were the most prominent structures in this area. Due to the awkward location of the church in relation to the rest of the Town of Indian Head, a new St. John's Church (initially called Grisdale Hall) was constructed north of the CPR tracks in 1912, and the picturesque church south of the tracks was demolished.
SOURCES:
Indian Head history: p. 112-113. "The Parish Magazine", No. 4, Vol. 7, Dec. 1905
RESEARCH BY:
Margaret Hryniuk, Regina, Saskatchewan; and Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Sask. -
05 - St John's Anglican Church, Indian Head - 1912
This church was erected in 1912 within the original townsite of Indian Head, and was intended to replace the more elaborately designed church situated south of the CPR tracks in the ill-fated townsite of "Brassey". Once this structure was completed, the earlier church was demolished. ST. John's Church was initially known as Grisdale Hall.
SOURCES:
Indian Head history:, p. 112 and 113.
RESEARCH BY:
Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Saskatchewan -
06 - St. John Anglican Church, Buxton Avenue - 2013
St. John Anglican Church was later renovated, with removal of the tower tops, the closure of some of the windows, and the addition of peaked trim over the windows to give them a Gothic-like appearance.
SOURCES:
Google Images - June 2013
RESEARCH BY:
Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Saskatchewan. -
1 - Lord Thomas Brassey - bought Bell Farm lands in late 1880 and 1890s
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1892 - Brassey Barn - cropped
A close-up view of the Brassey Barn. -
1892 - Sunbeam - Brassey Barn, Indian Head
The stone barn situated a mile or so southwest of Indian Head was part of the Sunbeam Farm,so named by Lord Thomas and Lady Anne Brassey in honour of their yacht "Sunbeam", in which hey sailed around the globe in 1876-77. Although it is presumed that other farm buildings were part of the Sunbeam Farm complex, to date no evidence of them - textual or photographic - has been discovered. The stone barn was constructed in 1891, and the only only known historic photo of it was taken in 1892. After Lord Brassey sold off his Indian Head holdings, the land that included the Brassey Barn was eventually sold to the May family, which farmed it for over half a century. Shortly after the turn of the 21st century, the farm was sold to David and Ken Rosin, of Pense, Saskatchewan.
SOURCES:
Sunbeam yacht - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbeam_RYS_(1874) Historic Photo provided by Albert May, Regina
RESEARCH BY:
Margaret Hryniuk, Regina, Saskatchewan; Michelle Cabana, Saskatoon, Sask.; and Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Sask. -
2 - James A.M. Aikins - Lord Brassey 's Winnipeg based lawyer
James Albert Manning Aikins (1851-1929) was a Winnipeg-based lawyer who represented Lord Brassey during negotiations to buy Bell Farm lands in the late 1880s and early 1890s. He was a fairly regular visitor to the Indian Head-Qu'Appelle area, either on business or for pleasure, joining in various duck hunting expeditions in the Qu'Appelle Valley. James Aikins was prominently featured in the "Winnipeg Tribune" obituary notice for Katherine Bell on Oct. 16, 1895 when the special CPR train carrying her remains and Major Bell arrived in Winnipeg en route to Brockville, Ontario.
SOURCES:
Memorable Manitobans: http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/aikins_jam.shtml "Winnipeg Tribune": 16 Oct., 1895 - Remains of Mrs. Bell.
RESEARCH BY:
Michelle Cabana, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Sask. -
Brassey Barn - 12 Aug 2015 - facing Northwest
Photo by Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Sask, 12 August 2015. -
Brassey Barn - 27 April 2016
View of the west end of the Brassey Barn. Photo by Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Saskatchewan, 27 April 2016. -
Brassey Barn - 29 May 2020
In the spring of 2020, a small tornado nicked the northwest corner of the Brassey Barn, tearing off part of the roof and breaking windows and doors. Photo by Margaret Hryniuk, Regina, Saskatchewan - 29 May 2020. -
Brassey Barn - 29 May 2020
Lumber ripped off the Brassey Barn when a tornado passed nearby in the spring of 2020. One rafter from the northwest corner was thrown like a javelin and stuck in the ground considerably east of the building. Debris from the roof can be seen on the ground to the right. Photo by Margaret Hryniuk, Regina, Saskatchewan,- 29 May 2020. -
Bunn, John - stonemason
John Robinson Bunn (1860-1939) was born in Quebec, and moved into Ontario in 1871 and then to Winnipeg in 1886. He married Annie Sophia Rich in 1883. Trained in Ontario as a stonemason, he plied that trade for a number of years, but eventually focused on farming and various business ventures. During his stone masonry era, John Bunn built, or helped to build, the following stone buildings: • c1889 - John & Annie Bunn farmhouse, south of Qu'Appelle - status undetermined • 1890 - Sunny South School, near Indian Head - status undetermined • 1891 - Sunbeam Barn (Brassey Farm), SW of Indian Head - abandoned • 1894 - Leonard G. Bell farmhouse and barn, south of Qu’Appelle – house demolished; barn still extant in 2018 • 1897 - Motherwell Farmhouse, south of Abernethy – National Historic Site • 1900-1901 - Inglewood School, near Qu’Appelle - demolished ca. 1967 While farming, he became a member of the first Rural Municipal Council of Qu'Appelle; was a member of the I.O.O.F., and belonged to the Liberal Association in his region. In 1899, Bunn moved to Milestone and opened a lumber, coal and wood supply store. He became active in local politics and was elected mayor of Milestone during 1908. In addition, he represented various businesses and organizations, including: Massey-Harris Implement Company; Canadian Pacific Railway Land Department; the Hudson Bay Company; the Canada North-West Land Company; and served as sub-agent for the Dominion Lands Office in the Milestone region. In 1908 John Bunn was a member of the Winnipeg Grain Exchange, and he was a business partner in the following agricultural businesses: Bunn Bros. Ltd,; Bunn-Munro Elevator Company; and the Blanchard Grain Company. He also became a charter member of the Leader Publishing Company, which published the "Regina Leader" (now the "Regina Leader-Post"), and became vice-president of that company. About 1910 the family moved to Saskatoon; and in 1919 John and Annie retired to Victoria, British Columbia, where John died in 1939 and Annie in 1954.
SOURCES:
Photo Source: Bunn family - taken Aug. 22, 1880. Correspondence from Lois Powell, great-granddaughter, April 2021 "Indian Head & District History", p. 101-103 "History of Milestone: 1893-1910" by A.W. Garrett, 1947 "From Prairie Plow Till Now", 1984 "Qu'Appelle: Footprints to Progress", p. 182, 203, and 370-373 "Qu'Appelle Progress", Dec. 16, 1886 "Regina Leader" - various issues from 1900 until 1937. Obituary - "Regina Leader-Post" - 18 May, 1939, p. 11
RESEARCH BY:
Lois Powell, Port Alberni, British Columbia; Margaret Hryniuk, Regina, Sask; and Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Sask.