Cannington Manor

Cannington Manor, established 1882 when an Englishman, Capt Edward Michell Pierce, claimed 5 townships 65 km south of Whitewood, NWT (now in southeast Saskatchewan), the nearest point on the CPR. Cannington was the name of an English town; "Manor" was added later to avoid confusion with an Ontario town. Knowing little about farming, Pierce nevertheless established an agricultural college for the sons of wealthy Englishmen. The "pups," as his students were known, refused to mingle with Canadian settlers. Three pups built a 26-room house which boasted a ballroom, billiard room and servants' quarters. In the mahogany-lined stable each racehorse had a brass nameplate above its stall.

By 1890 Cannington Manor included an Anglican church, a flour mill, hotel, smithy, carpentry shop, carriage shop and general store. But the rich English were not serious agriculturalists, playing tennis, cricket and rugby, and spending a week during harvest hunting and playing polo. Failure to adjust to life in Canada quickly brought business and farm bankruptcies. In 1901-02, when a new CPR line bypassed the village, the remaining businesses moved and Cannington Manor gradually disappeared. The site is now a provincial historic park, and a number of the original buildings have been reconstructed.

Author JANE MCCRACKEN

Links to Other Sites
Cannington Manor Provincial Historic Park
This Virtual Saskatchewan site is dedicated to Cannington Manor Provincial Historic Park.

Main Street, Saskatchewan
Take a stroll down Main Street, Saskatchewan. This extensive compilation of photographs and other archival material highlights more than a century of Saskatchewan history. Search the Saskatchewan Archival Information Network or browse the Virtual Displays and the Town List. Produced by the Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists.

The Canadian Register of Historic Places
Canada is home to a vast array of fascinating historical sites. Many of them are illustrated and described in this searchable online database of Canadian historic places that are of local, provincial, territorial, and national significance.