This historic manor in Saskatchewan offers a window into how pioneers settled Canada’s western frontier

WATCH: Serving as a spot for English settlers, the Cannington Manor village continues to tell stories of the province's pioneer past. Angela Stewart reports.

Tucked away in Saskatchewan’s southeast, near the towns of Carlyle, Manor and Moose Mountain Provincial Park, Cannington Manor gives a glimpse into what was once a thriving pioneer village.

It was built by English settlers looking to replicate a posh lifestyle in the Canadian west.

“It tells the story of the village of Cannington Manor, which was around for about 20 years from 1882 to 1902. So, it talks about settlement in this end of this Northwest Territories before Saskatchewan became a province,” said Alison Nagy, a manager of visitor experiences and public programming for Sask Parks.

The park is located on the exact location of where the village once stood.

The only change made was the reimagined “Bachelors Cabin” which was originally located 10 kilometres west, as it was on homestead land. The team felt it was best to bring the cabin to the park to help tell the story.

Charming 19th century village

Established by Capt. Edward Michell Pierce, the land was the perfect spot for his family to begin laying roots in Saskatchewan.

“Him and his son Duncan came out to this area with the idea of homesteading, sort of saw this space and it reminded him sort of the mores of where he grew up.”

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Capt. Pierce had dreams of creating a beautiful Victorian village on the Prairies and would later receive permission to turn the area into a townsite.

“[He] wrote a lot of letters, made a couple of friends with money and together they formed what’s called the Moose Mountain Trading Company,” Nagy explained. “Basically, this was a company town. The company owned and operated a lot of the businesses or leased buildings out to people.”

From carpenters to blacksmiths, professional craftsmen of all specialties would’ve leased their shops from the Moose Mountain Trading Company.

Some of the settlers even took part in an agricultural training school.

“The idea being that young gentleman, young bachelors, would come out here, learn how to farm and then apply for their own homesteads through the homesteading act,” Nagy added.

The company bankrolled the community and drew in even more prairie newcomers to the area.

“During the time of Cannington Manor, it was British. We do see primarily England, a little bit of Scot[ish] immigrants in both of those countries at the time,” she explained.

Main Street

There was no more than 30 families living in the village with about 90 homesteads spread throughout the area.

Main Street only consisted of about 20 buildings.

With most of the original buildings now gone, only two original buildings remain. The Humphreys House and the All Saints Anglican Church.

“It’s massive 3,400 square foot wood structure, using balloon frame construction, it’s quite a unique building that belonged to the Humphrey’s family. They came in 1888, shortly after Captain Pierce passed away and kind of took on that town leader role for a number of years,” Nagy explained.

The Humphreys family farmed in the area. James Humphreys had dreams and visions for the town. There are remains of a pork packing plant where sausages were made.

All Saints Anglican Church, along with its cemetery is located on the provincial site. The church, owned by the Anglican Diocese of Qu’Appelle, is still operational and is used for services in the summer by locals in the area.

Bypassed by rail

Once the Canadian Pacific Railway began building a branch line through what are now the towns of Redvers, Manor and Carlyle, visions for the village’s future quickly faded.

The branch lines cut off Cannington Manor from key trade routes in the early 1900’s.

“That kind of sealed the fate of Cannington Manor. It wasn’t cost effective for a blacksmith to do their business here when they had to haul all of their supplies and freight from the rail line,” Nagy added.

The town carried on for a couple more years with an attempt to set up a park, packing plant and cheese factory. Some of the people who lived in the area moved on to places like Manor, establishing roots in Carlyle while others went off to Calgary and the Okanagan region in B.C.

Historic site

More than 140 years later, stone markings show where the buildings once stood, along with reimagined sites and historic photographs which help to bring the village back to life.

Tricia Hayward and her high school friends travelled to the site for the very first time.

“I saw the sign, Cannington Manor and I had said to them that my daughter came here on one of her school field trips. I kind of knew it was the pioneer-type village, I was a history teacher so I kind of knew a little bit but not a ton,” she said.

The group had a chance to step into the shoes of a pioneer.

“We learned how to make a rope. We learned about the bachelor’s cabin, I think is what it was. So yeah, it’s interesting. I like stuff like this,” Hayward said.

The team at the park do dress the part while attending to guests.

“Wearing the Victoria costuming adds a layer of really authenticity,” Nagy noted. “I think we maybe feel a little bit more approachable. I know young children will often buy into this.”

The site is open until August 23rd for guests to visit.