Old Yard Sites

[farmaholic]

We own 16 quarters and there were 4 yard sites on them excluding our own (maybe 5...absolutely no sign of one where there was supposedly one).

The snow gave us perfect conditions to have the track hoe come in and get rid of the last remnants of buildings (mostly wooden bins) in the last two yards.

Now there is no sign that a homestead was once there....but yard sites seem to offer reminders of the past, treasures of all sorts that someone once lived there turn up regularly...offered up from the soil that the passage of time slowly buried.

Ironically, when the places were first homesteaded, the pioneers had to break land and erect buildings, make "improvements", to prove their homestead....now we are destroying any sign of their existence and consider it "making improvements". Lol... what a change in perspective.

Take care people.

[Partners]

True on your post.
To me it feels like the old/rotten buildings are in pain standing there...same for old abandoned machinery..

[blackpowder]

Reminds us our own 'legacy' has a lifespan.
One yard I cleaned the fellow had lived there nearly 70 years prior to my purchase from estate. Hadnt spent one dime on improvements in all that time. Very tiny junkpiles. A little sad I thought. Built so little and erased in minutes.
And yet our own yard wont exist forever either. Yet somewhat longer after my demise than the old fella I suppose.

[farming101]

Once was swathing in an old yard site and hit a crankshaft. Never know what you'll find

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Have the opposite problem here in the last 25 years. Houses, even farms popping up on every quarter section, often two now. Always take the old farmstead with all the rich soil from corrals and barnyards, bury it under gravel, shops, and houses, plant trees on the rest. The trees is the most painful part, I know how hard the previous generations worked to clear this land, often without equipment, to see it grow back to trees would devastate those that worked so hard.

Prior to this though, there was a farm on every quarter section which were abandoned long before my time. Farm over many of them now. I turned up an entire wood stove a couple years ago, brand name was Perfect. Find lots of cast pieces, harnesses, shoes, glass etc.

[fjlip]

Have the opposite problem here in the last 25 years. Houses, even farms popping up on every quarter section, often two now. Always take the old farmstead with all the rich soil from corrals and barnyards, bury it under gravel, shops, and houses, plant trees on the rest. The trees is the most painful part, I know how hard the previous generations worked to clear this land, often without equipment, to see it grow back to trees would devastate those that worked so hard.

Prior to this though, there was a farm on every quarter section which were abandoned long before my time. Farm over many of them now. I turned up an entire wood stove a couple years ago, brand name was Perfect. Find lots of cast pieces, harnesses, shoes, glass etc.

Would those be acreages/city workers/hobby farms? Any like that around Regina and Saskatoon? They are not cheap either.

[Braveheart]

We have 3 abandoned farm yards within what we farm. Two of them have old barns which are still straight. I like to leave the yard trees and old buildings. There are getting to be few places for birds to nest and even fewer places for barn swallows. Also, most of these old yards aren't on the best arable land and the compaction in them is high. The only thing we renovate is we like to seal any wells that aren't being used.

[WiltonRanch]

Most of the old farm yards dad didn't reclaim are left intact for the trees. They make good windbreaks for the cows. Filled in all the wells for safety sake. Surprising how many snoop around these sites looking for "antiques". Usually old buggers more than anything.

[danny W1M]

Beyond our own, we still have three other yard sites, two of which are next to the road and easy to farm around. Decent trees on all three, hawks love to nest in the tall trees, other birds like the choke cherries. We have three other sites which are now farmed over, one is particularly bad with iron and bricks coming up each year. Tires always nervous going through there. All wells were closed off 10 or more years ago.
Neighbours cleaned up two yard sites not too far from our own, the sites were our distant relative's. Not a lot left there, some small square wood bins, some iron and brush, no big trees really. Was kinda sad to see them completely erased, just saying.

[BreadWinner]

It sure is surprising what a guy can come across walking through these abandoned yards. Almost better than a museum. Nice pictures from yesterday.

[blackpowder]

What amazes me is how many steel rings can still hook on your openers. Harness rings or those drag chain rings that closed over seed rows? I dunno but they must have been patching harness constantly?

[bucket]

I think old yards remind me of what was....no value for an extra two acres to clean up at a good cost and may never repay the cost if you end up catching a flat or wrecked tire or combine....it never ceases to amaze me what floats up....


The people move on ....we had a relative of the original homestead where we live today visit last summer.....the elder had lived in our house....a 1917 Eaton home....

It was nice to get a note from her saying the farm she grew up at was in good hands....

[farmaholic]

bucket, it has nothing to do with gaining an acre of land here. The one didn't have to go and wasn't an inconvenience at all. But it had an old shed in which we were storing an M16 Studebaker in it that some assholes thought made a good target to shoot at. Without the wooden bins being used anymore and in a state of repair in which I didn't want to invest a nickel.... the logical thing to do was get rid of it. In both cases a portion of the yards had already been cleaned up.... what was left of the other yard was only a large wooden bin that was hell to get grain out of in the middle of cultivated land...once again, it was logical that it had to go, an obstacle in the field, there are enough of them with the sloughs. The good thing was either ever really had any shelterbelts.... all four of the ones that I can remember!

Now there is no reason for anyone to be snooping around those spots.... there's nothing there, unless there's some amateur paleontologists who want to dig up old yard sites looking for pioneering artifacts.

[bucket]

Yes good point the thieves that think old yards are theirs....

My mom and dad caught a guy with his kid going thru an old house once....he got a slap on the hands and the cops told my parents it wasn't wise to approach the thief because you never know what they are carrying.....


If I drove into the city and helped myself I would be in jail.

[Blaithin]

I dabble in photography and absolutely love old yards. Sometimes I see neat trinkets but for the most part I'm looking up not down. Although I really enjoy the ones with newspaper as insulation.

There was an incredibly unique - to my mind - old red brick house south of me. I did one round of photos with it and then it was torn down! They left the big barn up but for some reason the house went.

Not comfortable going on people's land without permission so unless I know the farmer (rare in the area I'm in now) I'm usually just limited to sites close enough to shoot from the road. But still... they just give a different sort of feeling to photos.