Cannington Manor Provincial Park/ Humphrys/ Hewlett House Site - Saskatchewan Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

As the boards read:

Welcome to the "Shiny House"

The Humphrys/Hewlet house stands as a symbol of the dreams of life in a new country. Built in 1888, it is one of the last remaining houses from the time when a group of English settlers developed the community village of Cannington Manor. Its architecture reflects the lifestyle and aspirations of the well-to-do English immigrants of Cannington society.

Only two families have lived on this farmstead. James and Jane Humphrys and their ten children were the original owners. When James died, Jane and the children moved away. Arthur Hewlett bought it in 1904. In 1912, he brought home his new bride, Maisie, and lived here with their three children.

Both the Humphrys and the Hewletts contributed to the growth of the community, the development of agriculture and the foundations of rural life in Saskatchewan. Their stories reflect growing pains and change, and the transformation of the prairie frontier into a structural agricultural community.

Take a walk around this farmstead and become acquainted with the Humphrys and the Hewletts.

The Humphrys/Hewlett House stands on a slight rise of ground. When it was built in 1888, the reflection of the sun's rays on the roof's new tin sheeting could be seen in all directions. . . the house came to be known as the "Shiny House".

The First Owners 1888-1903, The Humphrys

James Humphrys Leave England
Laid off from his job as a shipbuilder, and struggling with poor health James Humphrys was caught up in the rhetoric of immigration agents who extolled the virtues of the Canadian prairies a new frontier, a better climate, a land of unlimited opportunity. He envisioned a new life for himself and future opportunities for his sons.

The glowing accounts of life on the Canadian prairie written by Captain EM Pierce, founder of Cannington Manor, convinced James that a man of means could become a gentleman farmer of an "estate" rather an mere house. In 1888, he sold his house in England, set his wife and nine children in a rented house with eldest son, Ernest, set sail for Canada.

First Impressions
When James arrived at Cannington Manor, he felt right at home. Most of the people in the settlement were well-to-do English who, too, had come to Canada to carry on a refined English country lifestyle. He was excited about the future prospects of the area: the land was cheaper than in Winnipeg area, he felt a rail line would pass through the area in a short time and the social offerings of the Cannington Manor community suited his wife and children. He concluded that his family would be happy here. In the spring of 1888, he bought land and began construction of his house. By August, he returned to England to bring his family to their new home in Canada.

Jane and the Family Arrive
In the fall of 1888, Jane Humphrys, age 40, and familiar only with the comforts of middle class Victoria lifestyle, left her mother and friends. Her son, Ernest, met her at Moosimin train station, and she traveled by wagon over the rough trail to this house. Life would be different for her and the children Mary, the eldest daughter, had been studying art and music in Germany. Now along with her sisters she was assigned a daily household task; hired girls were hard to come by in the sparsely settled North West. The boys hauled ice for water, firewood from Moose Mountain, tended livestock, and seeded and harvested crops.

The Humphrys life here would be brief. On a January morning in 1903, Jane awoke to discover that James had died in his sleep. He was 65. Desiring a change in climate and influenced by many of the original Cannington Manor English families who had moved on, Jane decided to sell the farm. She and her four unmarried children moved to Vancouver.


The Second Owners 1904-1979, The Hewlett's

Arthur Hewlett
At his father's wishes, Arthur Hewlett immigrated to Canada as a young man of 17. He was drawn to the Moose Mountain area because his cousin had married one of the Bektons at Cannington Manor. He arrived at Cannington Manor settlement in 1894 and was taken aback by local customs:

"In the Queens Hotel in Moosomin I was astonished to find the bottle of whisky passed along the bar; to drink as much as you like for a quarter.. .
Arthur Hewlett.

His First job was a helper for Dr. Hardy. At first, he was paid in room and board; second year he received $5 a month.
"I had to get up in the night at any hour to put in his team or get it out. The doctor covered the district from Moosomin to the border about 80 miles across." Arthur Hewlett

After working for Dr. Hardy for several years, he returned to England where his father tried to convince him to attend Guelph Agricultural College. Instead, he returned to the Cannington Manor area and in partnership with EW Fleming, another young Englishman, started homesteading in the spring of 1797. To supplement their meagre farm income, they took on winter work, hauling hay, oats and potatoes to crews putting in the rail line to the south. In winter of 1897-98 he worked as a chore boy for the Humphrys receiving 'two good steers' in payment.

In 1904, with the financial assistance of his father, Arthur Hewlett purchased the Humphrys house. outbuildings and one section of land. He spent the rest of his life farming this land.


Maisie Hewlett
Annie Elizabeth May Brown was born in England in 1887. She taught in several government elementary school and pursued her BA at Bedford College, London. Finding her salary insufficient to support herself and her mother, she decided to pursue a teaching position in the Canadian North West where, it was reported that the salary for teachers was higher and living expense lower.

In 1911, on the voyage to Canada, Maisie met Arthur Hewlett. He was returning from a winter visit to his family in England. Maisie taught at several rural schools in Alberta before succumbing to Arthur's insistent demands that she marry him. They were married in Edmonton in December 1911 and arrived at this farm in January 1912.

Maisie Hewlett was an unusual woman for her time. She did not confine herself to home and family, but became involved in community groups and wrote about her life. During the depression, she produced a series of daily articles that ran in the Saskatchewan Farmer. She contributed to a variety of publications including the London Times, and became a member of the Canadian Woman's Press Club. She was the first president of the Saskatchewan Homemakers Association for farm woman and an active member of the Red Cross from 1914 until 1920. In 1975 she was nominated to the Saskatchewan Agriculture Hall of Fame.

After a lifetime of farming, Arthur Hewlett died in September 1962. Maisie continued to live in the house during the summer. She died in Winnipeg, 1974, and is burried in the graveyard at Cannington Manor.

Marker type: Text on Boards Marker placement date: Not listed

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