Forster

History

In the spring of 1932 Ed and Edith Forster bought the property that this barn sits on. They farmed from there until the spring of 1955 when Fred, Ed and Edith’s son, and Elizabeth Forster (nee Hampshire) moved here from Hawley-Forster property. Both couples farmed with mixed livestock operations, keeping horses, beef cattle, milk cows, and pigs inside the barn. The livestock operation ended in about 1982 when Fred and Elizabeth retired. However, like most life-long-farmers, he simply could not stay away from the action. Fred helped out on the farm for 10 years after that. The 1992 harvest would be his last due to his passing in July 1997. Also at that same time, the farming operation and the house-site were taken over by Keith Forster, Fred and Elizabeth’s son. Fred and Elizabeth lived with Keith until their deaths.

Florence Stosky does not remember her dad, Fred Forster, ever having pigs in the barn. They always had their own pen down passed the granaries in the yard. The family did not keep the work horses for very long after they moved to this property. This was because one of the horses on the team kept tipping the hay rack. The first winter the Forster family lived on the property, Florence was helping her dad and the team did it again. Florence was on the hay rack and had to be dug out from under the hay after the incident. After that, Fred said that the horses had better be sold.

The southern half of the barn was used as a granary and the northern half stored some grain that was milled for feed for the animals. In the loft of the barn there is a big rope and in the summertime Florence and her sibling used to swing on that rope. Florence spent quite a bit of time in the barn because, during seeding and harvesting, she had milk the cows. At the time, the family had four milk cows to milk. Florence remembers that one cow would give up to three pails of milk after she had her calf and then the quantity slowly went down to one pail.

Stosky, Florence. Personal communication. 28. Jun. 2017.

Forster farm in 1992

This frame shows the western face of the barn.

The barn has an addition with a shed roof on the southern side.

The next frames show the inside of the addition.

The barn has a foundation of concrete and field stone.

This frame is of the western face of the barn and the northern half of the barn’s roof.

This door, on the northern half of the barn, gives access to the feed storage room.

This frame is of the eastern face of the barn and the northern half of the barn’s roof.

This frame is of the eastern face of the barn.

The eastern half of the southern addition is in very poor shape.

This frame shows the view of the stalls inside of the barn. It was taken from the western half of the barn looking east.

This frame shows a portion of the southern stalls.

The staircase to the loft is positioned on the southern side in the middle of the barn.

This frame is of the western face of the barn taken while inside the barn’s loft.

This frame is of the eastern face of the barn’s loft.

This frame was taken from the northern door looking south into the grain storage room.

Along the western wall, there are many grain storage bins.

Location

52.667319, -111.868774 NW 31-42-13 W4.

Characteristics

Barn Condition: Fair

Construction Date: 1911 or 1912

Features: Hay hood and hay carrier, lightning rods

Roof Shape: Gambrel

Paint: Red with white trim

Decorations: No names or dates

Roof Covering: Metal

Siding: Wooden shiplap

Foundation: Concrete and field stone

Additional History on the Property

Forester, Fred. “Fred and Elizabeth Forster Family”. The Pleasant Country: Volume One Killam and District 1903-1993. 1st ed. Killam: Killam Historical Society, 1993. Print.