There are not a lot of stone buildings on the prairies, so it is cool when I get to see one. I have seen a few stone houses, a school, and even a little castle. I know there are more, and I will hopefully see them myself one day.
The place we saw on the recent Oyen area trip used to be barn. I don't know much more about it other that I was told it was built by German settlers. It wouldn't have been an easy task as there are not a lot of stones in the area and some of the ones used are quite large.
While on the topic...here is an abandoned stone house I found in September 2017:
A big thanks to Dave M, for showing us around the Oyen area, we saw a lot of cool things that day and many of those I would like to revisit.
A big thanks to Dave M, for showing us around the Oyen area, we saw a lot of cool things that day and many of those I would like to revisit.
So cool! I love seeing your finds. They're always so gorgeously captured.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mr. S! I appreciate your kind words.
DeleteI recognize that place! Dave showed it to us too, late last fall. Still haven't posted about it yet - so behind. Anyway, very cool and nice pics. If it's made of stone, I love it.
ReplyDeleteCool! Will await your post and see if you know more about it!
DeleteI agree with Mr Sable above! Great shots! We have lots more stone buildings so I enjoy seeing your wooden buildings & architecture!
ReplyDeleteThank you Christine, no shortage of old wood buildings around here ;)
DeleteGreat to see the stone foundation. It had to be lots of work to collect them!
ReplyDeleteHi Marie, lots of those rocks don't like like field stones...I wish I knew more of it's history!
DeleteThe foundation is quite similar to how it's done here. In these parts there's no shortage of stonework.
ReplyDeleteHi William, I can't imagine how long it must take to collect all these stones.
DeleteStone buildings are wonderful to see. Lots of work to build them but they last for a very long time. The foundations is pretty impressive and took a lot of hauling to build just that.
ReplyDeleteNice photos, Jenn.
Thanks Bill! Seems like a lot of work for a barn...maybe it was something else?!
DeleteMy great-grandparents homesteaded in southwestern Manitoba in the 1880s and it has been passed down in family history that, when virgin prairie is first broken, there are lots of rocks under the surface. These must be physically picked up and moved so farming can occur. If they're big, they must be broken and then moved. It was the kids' job to walk behind their father as he was ploughing so as to help move the rocks that were struck or turned up. The rocks were put on "stone boats" (flat beds) and towed away by horses when full. I was told that the rocks and stones would be used as building materials. My father remembers putting rocks on stone boats too and that was 50 years later during the Depression.
ReplyDeleteHi Debra, neat family history! I bet the term back breaking work came from the pioneers who broke this land.
DeleteI enjoy looking at the abandon places you keep on finding. Keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteThanks Andy, I crawled under a barbed wire to get closer to this beauty! lol
DeleteHow fantastic to see. Gosh they were a tough bunch back then! Can you imagine how we would cope now without all the building equipment used today! You do find the most interesting places to show us Jenn!
ReplyDeleteThanks PDP! I think often about how tough the pioneers were, I can't even imagine it. I am hoping to see some more stone buildings that I know are around. They interest me since they're not very common.
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