Photograph of Indian Head by Walter James Osment sometime in the early 1900's. The view is down Grand Avenue (southeastwardly toward the grain elevators).
The collection consists of various documents and photos about Indian Head's agricultural heritage, including the Bell Farm, the federal Tree Nursery and the federal Experimental Farm. The Agriculture Collection includes materials related agriculture and includes, especially, series pertaining to three major agricultural developments in Indian Head 1) The Bell Farm (Qu'Appelle Valley Farming Company) which was a huge farming venture of 57,000 acres promoted by Major William Robert Bell in 1881-1882 to Eastern Canadian and American shareholders. The venture finally failed and Major Bell left Indian Head in 1895. 2) The federal Experimental Farm which was established in 1887 under the superintendency of Angus MacKay and continues to conduct research as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Indian Head Research Farm . 3) The federal Tree Nursery (PFRA) resulted from the promotion of trees and shrubs for shelter by Angus MacKay , the superintendent of the Experimental Farm . Established as a separate federal government station in 1901 under the superintendency of Norman Ross, it provided trees and shrubs for farmers throughout the prairies until its closure in 2014.
The series will consists of archival materials pertaining to the federal Tree Nursery. See the Tree Nursery Fonds (TNF) for a comprehensive collection of documents and photos in the form of over 7m of textual documents in 3-ring binders and a slide cabinet which contains duplicate slides produced by Tree Nursery staff over many years.
Three newsclippings entitled: a) Indian Head station is marking 75th year (Leader-Post July 21, 1962); b) Experimental farm long established (Leader-Post, date unknown); c) Angus Mackay and the establishment of the Indian Head Experimental Farm (October 17, 1979)
Coil-bound homemade 104-page book detailing David Aldous's attempts to have the Bell Barn, a large round stone barn just north of Indian Head, designated a heritage site and to have it restored. This includes photos and research on the barn and correspondence concerning the building's importance.
Coil-bound homemade 156-page book (Volume 3) detailing David Aldous's attempts to have the Bell Barn in Indian Head designated a heritage site and have it restored. This includes photos and research on the barn and correspondence concerning the building's importance.
Photograph of the reconstructed Bell barn with utility building in background - built according to the pattern for the many cottage homes that were spread across the huge Bell farm..
Open letter on behalf of the Bell Barn Society asking for donations to rebuild the Bell Barn. The rebuilt Bell Barn currently (2022) is a museum 1 km north of Indian Head, west of Highway 56.