Little Stone House on the Prairie

It’s five words seen time and again in the comments section of our website and our social media accounts when we post about an abandoned farm or ranch house: “if these walls could talk”.

And it most certainly applies here.

Take in this little stone house, abandoned on the remote plains with its companion barn that speaks of a lost dream. Most definitely there is story in the these walls, even if at present they’re a bit tight-lipped. Sadly, we’ve only pieced together little snippets, but even with the publishing of this we’ll continue to dig. Still, what we’ve uncovered is a start and the setting, well it’s something rather unique, so we think it stands on these merits alone.

The location is out of the way corner of Alberta, the south eastern part of the province. It’s a vast swath of land, little touched by humankind and very much a natural rolling prairie. Arid and unforgiving, it was and is place only for the strong and brave (and for those who called it home, maybe the mad).

Present day it’s located inside a sprawling military base. There, just over the rise, it’s a training ground, a simulated installation belonging to the enemy on which exercises play out. On our journey in, we were allowed to get close but photos were not permitted. Trust us, it was something! Tanks! Planes!

Here by our subject, in a buffer zone area, that’s all out of sight, however. There’s views to the horizon and wide open spaces with nary a sign of civilization. We can say for certain, we’re looking at something visited by few. If manoeuvres were playing out, you’d know about it standing here (not that you would be allowed), but otherwise it’s a feeling of complete and utter isolation. Imagine it back in the day.

We’re in good company on this adventure. There’s a couple fine fellows, our military escorts, and a friend, someone we collaborate with now and then and greatly admire, Coinoath Sarsfield. Search out his amazing work online.

Here’s what we know so far.

This area is a near desert at times and was settled beginning in the 1910s under the promise that irrigation would soon follow. There’s little natural participation and without life giving water, farming or ranching would be near impossible. So the people came, not in droves but more a trickle (unintended water reference), all the while work on the canal that was to supply them continued. They got so far as to build a big long meandering ditch, but it was never put into use. It’s still there today – go to: Wet Dreams to see some infrastructure connected to this failed project.

Early in, with the irrigation scheme facing collapse, hope vanished and the people soon moved away. Here and there, a few hold outs remained, but otherwise it was a big empty nothingness. Then, with World War Two in full swing, the Department of National Defence took over a huge chunk of land in the area, including those farms and ranches left. Soon transformed into a giant county-sized training base, it serves this same function today. We’re not sure if the stone house was occupied by this time, or earlier vacated. so minimally it’s been abandoned some eighty years.

We have a name connected to the place appearing in a late 1910s land owner’s list, someone called Sweeney, first name unknown but maybe with initials AW (hard to read the old record). This is the only mention we could find of the fellow. When exactly this person came, and from where, or if they had a family, all are similarly unknowns. And that’s in spite of some deep research and many hours of phone calls. Frustrating indeed, coming up short happens all too often here, especially given the limited resources at our disposal.

That the land around does not appear to have been broken suggests they raised livestock.

There’s two buildings here. One’s a single story house, rather modest in size and with a wood roof. That it’s of stone gives it great character and that it’s in a dry region has kept the wood bits in reasonable shape. The barn nearby is likewise of stone, but the roof is long gone. Wandering about the property, this appears to be all there was here. We found no other building depressions or anything else left behind. Usually there’s old machinery or discarded stuff, but not here.

Imagine the amount of back breaking work it took to collect and stack these rocks. Everything appears quite solid, even today. Someone was a craftsperson.

We mentioned it’s not clear when the person/people moved away. No one, the DND included, seemed to know for sure, nor did any history books, newspaper accounts or land records offer insight. Did they retire, move on, pass away? And when? We couldn’t even track down any clues in cemetery or death records. What a bummer. Research is always ongoing, but we accept it’s a long hard road, often fraught with disappointment.

We’re not aware if there is anything else from the settlement era still standing on the base. This was a tough place to live and most folks high-tailed it out fairly early on. Those few that dared even try in the first place. When chatting with our base liaisons about the possibility, there was a “don’t go there” look mid-conversation, which hints maybe there is something. There are early First Nation’s sites on the land, that much we know (and they’re protected).

We’ll continue working to fill in the blanks and should something come to light down the road, we’ll post an update here. It can be a long slow process. Even with the paucity of information, we think you’ll agree it’s still a pretty interesting story, even if briefer than usual (by our legendary long-winded standards)

We lit up the building so it appeared someone was home, there in the twilight and serenaded by coyotes. For a moment, there was signs of life in the house, something that has not happened here for a long, long time. Soon we’re on our way and the little Stone House on the Prairie is once again alone.

Till we post again, enjoy the stay, keep awesome and please comment below the photos!

They’re saying…

”Love your photos! I share the love for abandoned and forgotten places and things….thank you!” Alannah Maria.

More like this…
These Stone Walls – Remote!
Tiny Stone House – Cute!
The Stone House – Middle of nowhere!

If you wish more information on what you’ve seen here, by all means contact us!

Date of Adventure: October, 2019.
Location(s): Eastern Alberta.
Article references and thanks: University of Calgary – Libraries & Cultural Resources Collection, The Department of National Defence Suffield Base, Coinoath Sarsfield (thanks for the gas card too).

Our military escort & Coinoath Sarsfield.

“If these walls could talk…”

Remains of the barn.

The magic hour is at hand.

This farm has been abandoned at least 80 years.

Serenaded by coyotes.

Seems someone’s home (B&W treatment).

Seems someone’s home (colour treatment).