Manitoba Municipal Heritage Site No. 77

Demonstration Farm House
44 Water Street,
Killarney

Demonstration Farm House
Designation Date: February 10, 1992
Designation Authority: Killarney (Town)
Present Owner: Killarney-Turtle Mountain (R.M.)

The Demonstration Farm House at Killarney is a rare surviving link to an early phase in the Manitoba government’s efforts in agricultural research and education. The structure housed the manager of an agricultural demonstration facility established when George Lawrence, a Killarney pioneer, was Manitoba’s minister of agriculture. The purpose was to identify and promote farming practices and crop varieties suited to this particular region of the province. The large dwelling, with its prominent dormers and wide shady verandah, is a fine example of the typical four-square farmhouses built across southern Manitoba in the early 1900s. Although subject to various uses since the demonstration farm was closed in 1946, including as a Royal Canadian Mounted Police barracks, a private school and a museum, the house retains much of its exterior integrity and interior layout and character.