The Rural Voice, 2002-07, Page 31remember the laneway had the house
to one side the orchard to the other.
Immediately behind the house was
the milk -house. A short distance, the
pump -house and a woodshed sat near
a Targe garden. At the edge of the
yard was the outhouse.
urther up the lane, which was
F
lined with gooseberry and
currant bushes, was the drive -
shed, beside it the workshop, across
the lane from them and on the other
end of the farmyard were the chicken
coop, a pig shanty, granary and corn
crib. In back and facing it all, was the
two-storey barn. Half of it was built
as a tobacco (burley) barn. And to
complete the look of the day, a picket
fence surrounded the entire yard.
This farm landscape evolved over
several decades. With the increased
availability of sawn lumber in the
later half of the 19th century, farm
magazines began publishing plans for
various structures and outbuildings —
like the classic, but increasingly rare,
keystone -shaped corncribs (see photo
at top of the previous page).
The chicken coop on our farm was
a mail-order job that was shipped in
crates, complete with assembly
instructions. It actually had the name
and address of our neighbour's
grandfather, the original owner,
printed on the boards inside. Decades
later, my father bought it from the
neighbour, placed it on logs, and
dragged it to our farm where it served
its specialized purpose beside our
granary for several more decades.
Moving of outbuildings from one
location to another, or changing their
functions was not unusual. The drive -
shed on our farm still has rings on the
inside of the far wall were the horses
were tied. And indeed it was a true
drive -shed: prior to being moved (by
teams of horses) to our farm around
the 1930s, it was one section of a
much longer drive -shed that sat along
the road across from the church
located just down the road.
Complete, the original drive -shed
would have provided indoor parking
for 24 buggies, horses and all.
With the fact that these buildings
have so much to say, perhaps it's not
surprising that they have also left us
some words unique to Ontario. For
example, the word drive -shed is a
quintessential Ontario word not used
elsewhere. These drivesheds (see
second photo from top), often located
515 James Street S., St. Marys,
Ontario N4X 1C7
Ph: 519 349-2355
800 667-3845
Fax: 519 349-2144
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DeLaval carrier rail - the best investment
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With the DeLaval carrier rail
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SUPPLY LTD.
Fire #308, Bruce County Road 16, R.R. #5 Mildmay
519-367-5595
JULY 2002 27