Routledge

History

Jack and Arthur Routledge both lived on this property for a short time. Both men filed blind, meaning that they filed for their land without seeing it. Arthur received NW 32-44-10 W4 while Jack received SW 32-44-10 W4. Jack’s quarter was not suitable for farming and so he had to walk all the way to Wetaskiwin to refile. Few homesteaders at the time needed to travel back to Wetaskiwin and so Jack had to walk. He walked all the way to Wetaskiwin carrying a ploughshare (a plough blade) which was not the right size for his plough. Luckily, he was able to get a ride back to Lougheed with new homesteaders going the same way. While in Wetaskiwin, Jack refiled for the quarter cater-corned to Arthur’s, the SE 06-45-10 W4. Click here to learn more about that property.

Meanwhile, Arthur’s family had a mixed farm operation. They crop farmed, raised shorthorn cattle, and milked cows. As such, they used the barn for draft horses, milk cows, and ill or birthing cattle. However, for the first few years that the Routledges were in the area they used oxen to pull the plow, not horses. Arthur had four children, Robert, Donald, Arthur Frank, and May. After Arthur died the farm got passed to Donald Routledge. When Don died in the late 1990s he left the property to his brother Arthur Frank Routledge. Upon Frank’s death in the early 2000s, the farm went to his three children: Douglas, Gordon, and Janice.

Recently, the three siblings decided to reshingle the barn. They mentioned that it helped renew their connection to their family’s homestead. Doug also remembers a family reunion that took place on the property over ten years ago. He has fond memories of how happy the family was to come together in a place with so much meaning to all of them.

Routledge, John and Peggy. Personal communication. 20 Jul. 2016.

Routledge, Doug. Personal communication. 22 Jul. 2016.

This frame shows the eastern face of the barn and the northern half of the roof. The addition was built on to act as a cattle chute.

This frame shows the northern half of the barn’s roof.

The western face of the barn has two large loft doors which slide down to open.

This frame shows the western face of the barn and the southern half of the barn’s roof.

A close-up of the barn’s cupola.

This frame shows the southern side of the addition to the barn, that was used as a cattle chute.

Inside the barn’s addition.

What used to be the exterior of the main barn is now somewhat protected from the elements by the addition.

Inside the barn, this frame was taken from the north-western side looking east. This barn has three sets of stalls that run north-south (the same direction as the mangers).

This frame shows a stall on the western-most half of the barn.

This frame shows the middle section of stalls within the barn. In the background are the stalls on the eastern half of the barn.

This frame shows the staircase to the loft, some of the eastern set of stalls, and a portion of the south-eastern door to outside.

Half of the eastern stalls have stanchions for milking cows.

This frame is of the south-eastern door, which is one of two doors on the southern half of the barn. The south-east door used to lead out into a grassed area.

The stairs up to the loft have a slight spiral at the very top.

This frame is of the eastern face of the barn.

The loft of this barn is quite short. It is probably the smallest loft of all of the barns in this database in terms of headroom.

The barn still has its original hay carrier.

This frame shows portions of the barn’s rafters and the entirety of the barn’s western face.

The nail barrel in this photo has been re-purposed to act as a counterweight for the loft’s two doors.

The pulley system and the weight allow for the doors to be slid down to open and to be pulled up to close.

The rafters create the roof’s gambrel shape.

Location

52.841073, -111.427451 NE 32-44-10 W4.

Characteristics

Barn Condition: Good

Construction Date:

Features: Hay hood and hay track, one wooden cupola

Roof Shape: Gambrel

Paint: None, may have been brown

Decorations: No names or dates

Roof Covering: Asphalt shingles

Siding: Wooden shiplap

Foundation: Field stone

Additional History on the Property

Please click on the images and view them in an new tab to zoom in.

Routledge, D.J., Routledge, W.A. “The Routledge Brothers ‘Jack’ and Arthur”. Verdant Valleys In and Around Lougheed. 1st ed. Lougheed: Lougheed Women’s Institute, 1972. Print.

For information on John (Jack) Routledge’s property please click here.