Upon entering the site from the parking area, the first building one will encounter is the
Welcome Barn. Therein one will be welcomed by a young lady who will direct the visitor to the
guest book and a kiosk displaying several informational plaques and signs outlining the story of
Huble Homestead. The visitor will also be treated to a short discourse on the homestead before venturing forth to explore the remainder of this living heritage site.
Nearby is a second, very similar, barn. Both were built of peeled logs, with steeply pitched gable roofs. Inside are displayed a few items, including a pair of small manually operated grain cleaners/seed separators. This one, often referred to as a
Fanning Mill, is almost certainly the older of the two. This is a wood framed unit with steel only in places where wood just would not fit the bill, such as the sieves and the blower housing. Also, much of the mechanical drive for the machine is steel or iron, with a few wood pieces for the lesser stressed parts. Operation is simple, and mostly obvious. Pour uncleaned grain in the upper hopper, crank the large iron wheel and vibration of the sieves, as well as air from the blower, will separate chaff, straw and weed seeds from the grain, which will emanate at the lower end of the machine.
This unit bears a
Twin City stencil, letting us know who manufactured the unit, as well as the fact that it was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. From the description below, we must assume this to be an example of the lower quality units produced by
Twin City, the
Competition model.
Fanning Mills
Early fanning mills were usually made of furniture-quality hardwood and nicely finished with joints similar to those used in furniture. They often had rounded corners and pinstriping or stenciling too. Twin City Manufacturing, out of Minneapolis and Winnipeg, Canada, made mills of both high and low quality. The company's Competition model was cheaply constructed out of pine; the New No. 1, constructed by Twin City for Deere & Company, had an all-oak frame, mortised joints, a threaded feed adjustment and an adjustable damper on the fan. Examples of both the Competition and the New No. 1 are in the Little Village Farm collection; both came off the auction block.
Early threshing machines just stripped grain and chaff from the straw, leaving a still-unfinished product that needed further cleaning before it could be used for making bread.
Then about 1880, along came fanning mills. They were simple affairs that cleaned coarse grains (mostly wheat, oats and barley) of such weed seeds as creeping jenny and bindweed. Several such mills, representing early, middle and late styles, are in the collection at Little Village Farm, near Trent, S.D.
From Farm Collector
Following is a bit of the story of the Huble Homestead.
A short 6 kilometre
down a gravel road drive through BC wilderness will take one to the Huble Homestead Historic Site, a preserved homestead now operated as a living heritage site by the Giscome Portage Heritage Society. Today the historic site is open daily from Victoria Day to Labour Day for guided tours, school and daycare programs, and special events. The site offers a wide range of public programming, featuring entertainment, tours for schools and local organizations, and heritage demonstrations, including blacksmithing, making butter and cheese, etc. The site, or parts thereof,
may be rented for both indoor or outdoor functions, parties and weddings. Capacity of indoor spaces is 100 individuals.
This is a complete homestead, with all the original buildings and many farm implements, wagons, household items, corrals and pastures remaining in place. The homestead was begun in 1911 by one
Albert James Huble and his wife
Ann May (Hart), both born in Ontario.
The Huble house has been declared a designated heritage building by the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.
In 1911 Albert Huble returned from a visit to his family in Ontario with a new bride, Annie, and her daughter Ada. In the fall when Mrs. Huble had another baby, Bertha, the cabin in which they were living became too small for the growing family.
The house he built was a typical Ontario farmhouse, complete with squared logs and dovetailed corners. The house took nearly a year to complete... ...The family spent the winter in their new house. In the spring of 1913, Mr. Huble attached the family’s old cabin to the new house for use as a summer kitchen. Once completed, the two story house boasted a cellar, a large parlour and dining room, an office for Al, a first floor master bedroom, four upstairs bedrooms, and a summer kitchen.
From The Huble Homestead
The Hubles lived in the house until 1919, when they moved with their four girls, Bertha, Martha, Patricia and Gladys, into the city of Prince George, keeping the homestead as a summer home. In 1929 336 acres of the homestead, including all the buildings, was sold to Mrs. Josephine Walker Mitchell, who used the site to house workers on the WM Ranch for many years, selling the property in 1957.
After Mrs. Mitchell sold the property in 1957, the house and the land passed through several different owners. In 1983 a proposal was brought forward to move the historic house from its original location on the Fraser River to the Old Fort Brewery site in Prince George. A group of residents from Salmon Valley and Summit Lake organized to stop the move. In 1983 they formed the Giscome Portage Heritage Society and began restoration of the house in 1985. In 1989 the Huble house was unveiled to the public as the centerpiece of the Huble Homestead Historic Site. The Huble house is the oldest building on its original location in the entirety of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.
From The Huble Homestead
