First Homestead in Western Canada National Historic Site of Canada
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
Detail view
(© Parks Canada Agency / Agence Parcs Canada.)
Address :
Highway 240, 1 mile north of Hwy 249 junction, Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1945-05-16
Dates:
-
1872 to 1872
(Construction)
Event, Person, Organization:
-
John Sutherland Sanderson
(Person)
Other Name(s):
-
First Homestead in Western Canada
(Designation Name)
DFRP Number:
12518 00
Plaque(s)
Existing plaque: across from Portage la Prairie Water Treatment Plant (Highway 240, 1 mile north of Hwy 249 junction) 8 km North of Portage la Prairie, on Hwy 240 (Delta Road) just S of the junction of Hwy 240 N and Rd, Manitoba
Following the new system of survey adopted in 1871 the Canadian Government inaugurated its homestead policy which in due time attracted settlers from all parts of the world. One mile west, on the North-East quarter of Section 35 Township 12 Range 7 West of the First or Principal Meridian, was the homestead of John Sutherland Sanderson whose application was filed on the 2nd July, 1872 and numbered "1".
Description of Historic Place
First Homestead in Western Canada National Historic Site of Canada is located on a flat parcel of land north of Portage La Prairie near Oakland, Manitoba. The site consists of the first homestead in western Canada, established under the Dominion government’s new survey system adopted in 1871. There are no visible remains of the original homestead, which was first owned by John Sutherland Sanderson. In 1976, the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada erected a plaque on a grey tyndall stone block cairn to commemorate the site. Official recognition refers to the plot of land within the northeast quarter of section 35, township 12, range 7 near Portage La Prairie, Manitoba.
Heritage Value
First Homestead in Western Canada was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1945 because: it was the site of the first homestead in the West granted under the Dominion Government’s Homestead Regulations.
The heritage value of First Homestead in Western Canada resides in its historical associations with the Dominion Government’s Homestead Regulations in western Canada. Following the adoption of a new survey system in 1871, the Canadian government inaugurated its homestead policy under the Dominion Lands Act of 1872. This policy attracted immigrants from all parts of the world to establish settlements in western Canada. The first homestead entry in the west was filed by John Sutherland Sanderson, a Scotsman from the Lothians whose application was filed on July 2, 1872 and numbered “1”.
Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, May 1945; Plaque Text, 1955.
Character-Defining Elements
The key elements relating to the heritage value of the site include: its location north of Portage La Prairie near Oakland, Manitoba; its siting on a flat parcel of agricultural land in the northeast quarter of section 35, township 12, range 7, west of the Principal Meridian; the integrity of any surviving or as yet unidentified archaeological remains which may be found within the site in their original placement and extent; the plaque and grey tyndall stone block cairn erected by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada to commemorate the site; viewscapes from the site across the neighbouring fields.