The Boulton House

The Boulton Home at 24-6-28

When the Boultons; Benjamin, Ann, Herb, Thomas, Louisa, Anthony and Susan left Ontario in March of 1892, they left everything they knew, friends and family behind. Those first few months, they stayed in a wooden building on the farm home of Thomas Baldwin, just south of the present day town of Reston.  Mr. Baldwin was a former resident of Mountain, Ontario and married Alice Munroe on a trip back home in early 1894.  In the summer of 1892, the Boultons took out homesteads and started building their home at 24-6-28 . The picture above dates from those early days. Both winter and summer modes of transportation for the family are were on display in the picture as well. 

If you haven't seen it, Heritage Manitoba has an interesting online resource here  under the Notable People tab called "We Made Pipestone" that features the stories of pioneer contemporaries of the Boultons. It's a large download but very interesting reading.  

A veranda and the Victorian details were added around the time this photo was taken, about 1910. The summer kitchen was a lean-to that was used by the family in the summer but was not insulated and heated in the winter.  Wood for the cooking and heating was kept there for easy access.

The picture above would have been taken around 1910, by the age of the two boys.  The same photo was printed in the RM of Albert History book in 1984 and the caption below it there identifies the people as : Herb, Susan, Annie Kendrick (on veranda), Stanley, Anthony, Thomas, Louisa Roe, Russell Roe, Ann Boulton and little Tom Roe in front.

 This photo is of Edwin in about 1923 with a towering pile of wood, ready for winter.

The home seen here in the background looks the same but I don't recognize any of the people in this picture. 

Picnic on the lawn in the late 40's.  The house seems unpainted but the Virginia Creeper vine on the east veranda would give a shady and cool spot to sit in the summer. 



"Dot" and "Lady" in front of the house

February 1964 showing the wood siding on the house covered with Insul-brick siding and  the trim painted in a striking dark green.
  

The vine on the east side of the house has been there many years and continues to thrive.  In some photos it has been trimmed back but this one from the 1960's with Randy shows it so lush!

Above - the Boulton house as it looked in the fall of 2015

 Five generations of Boultons have lived, worked, played, eaten, slept and visited with neighbours and family in this house for the past 124 years.  More than just four walls, it has a place in the fond memories of many.