Baker Homestead Site

The Baker Homestead Site is a Municipal Heritage Property comprising one quarter section of land in the Rural Municipality of Gravelbourg No. 104. The property is located about 15 kilometres north-east of the Town of Gravelbourg and features a small one-storey, two-room, wood-frame farmhouse built in 1913, surrounded by a farmyard.

The heritage value of the Baker Homestead Site lies in its association with the history of settlement in the Gravelbourg district. William Baker homesteaded on the property in 1909. Like many early pioneer settlers, he initially built a sod house, which he lived in until 1913, when he constructed the current building on the same site. Baker died in 1938, but his family continued to live in the house until 1974.

The heritage value of the property also lies in its historical integrity. The property retains its original vernacular, wood-frame construction and is a rare surviving example of structures built in the early twenieth century as small-scale farm residences. District homesteaders commonly built such structures as their second homes, following a short period living in sod houses.

Source:

Rural Municipality of Gravelbourg No. 104 Bylaw 8/81.

The heritage value of the Baker Homestead Site resides in the following character-defining elements:

-those elements reflecting the property’s association with Gravelbourg’s settlement era, such as its position on its original location;

-those elements reflecting the building’s historical integrity, such as its small form, limited massing, vernacular design and wood-frame construction, including its low ceiling, shed-like roof and porch.