1955 - Original Wooden Historic Marker for Bell Farm
When the provincial government initiated its program to commemorate historic sites for the 1955 Jubilee Celebrations, one of the first to be erected was this marker, located at Indian Head, at the intersection of Highways 1 and 56.
The text reads:
The Bell Farm once occupied the surrounding district. It was controlled by the Qu'Appelle Valley Farming Company and managed by Major W.R. Bell. Betweenn1882 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 subdivided the townsite of Indian Head. The farm lost heavily due to severe frost and drought. Its operations were almost completely suspended during the rebellion of 1885. 40,000 acres were eventually sold to the Brassey Colonization Company. Major Bell bought the rest and farmed it for several years. The round stone stable of the Bell Farm stands two miles north on No. 56 highway. The Dominion Experimental Farm, one mile east, was once part of the farm."
SOURCE:
Photo: Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan: SAB_GM_R-A4193
RESEARCH BY:
Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Sask.