The Bennett Farm on the Queens Line is celebrating its 150th year as a family farm.
Family history-keeper Ruby Bennett recently completed a very short, but comprehensive, history of this farm, which is located just under two kilometres from the Foresters Falls Road.
In 1842, James Bennett and his wife, Jane, left England and came to Canada. After several moves they settled behind the Howard Cemetery near Forester’s Falls. (The house is still there.)
They had seven boys and two girls who all were married with families in the community. Most of their sons farmed in the area.
On March 17, 1865, James purchased 100 acres at Lot 9, Conc. 6 Ross Township on the Queens Line for $35. This lot was all swamp and bush and the Queens Line was corrugated road made up of logs. (As a young boy, Keith Bennett, who is now 73 and married to Ruby, can remember logs coming up in their lane in the spring.)
In 1873, their sixth son, Joseph, purchased this farm from his father for $400. Together, they had cleared some of the land and built a house and barns. Joseph married Sarah Fraser and they had five children.
In 1896, Joseph was at a school meeting when a fire started in the straw stack and burnt all the outbuildings. Sarah put her apron over the horses’ heads and led them out of the fire. (Horses will panic and refuse to come out of a burning building.) That winter, a stable was built and in the spring of 1897 a barn was built, drawing the lumber from Davis Mill at Rankin. This barn remains part of the barns today.
In 1907 Joseph and Sarah sold the farm to their son James Andrew for the sum of $1. However, for the rest of Sarah and Joseph’s lives, James Andrew was to supply a driving horse, harness, cutter, buggy and feed.
When James A. purchased the farm, it was still only partially cleared. He waited seven years to get the wind in the right direction to burn the rest off.
James Andrew married Katherine Dunlop from Perretton and they had Derwood, Vera (married Albert Gibson) and twins Robert and Joseph. Katherine died when the twins were born in 1914.
Four years later, James A. married Margaret Broome and they had two girls, Jean (Crozier) and Marion (Quaile). In 1922, they built a bigger barn and that year the Queens Line road was built, gravelled and graded from one end to the other. It was a very hot, dry summer with poor crops.
In 1926, the old house was cold and too small and the current home was built by Herb Ross.
Robert married Winnie May and bought the farm from his father in 1936. They had one son, Keith. They bought a Model A Ford car in 1940. Farming was done with horses until 1942, when they purchased a Cockschutt 60 tractor. This tractor was later traded in on a W6 International with a loader and V-plow. It was used to plow driveways on the Queens Line, load gravel for Ross and Westmeath townships and did all the farm work for Bob (Robert) and his son, Keith, until 1969.
Today, this tractor is owned by Bob’s grandson (Keith’s son), Calvin Bennett.
Hydro was installed at the farm in 1945 and a DeLaval milking machine was installed in 1947. The bathroom and plumbing were installed in 1951. Bob and Winnie continued mixed farming with 15 milk cows and 1,000 hens.
In 1965 Keith (their son), and his wife Ruby (Robertson) purchased the farm. They had four children, Kim, Dale, Trevor (deceased) and Calvin.
In 1967 there was no longer pickup of canned milk, so a new milkroom was built and a bulk cooler installed.
In 1969 an eight-stall milking parlour was installed to milk 110 cows. As well, over the years, barns, free stalls, bunk feeders and silos were built.
Kim worked on the farm until she started her own business. Calvin works for the Renfrew County Catholic District School Board and has a small farm. Dale remains on the farm.
In 1994, Dale and Sue (Moore) purchased the farm. They milked cows until May 2012.
Today, they operate a mixed farm of beef, dairy heifers, hay, corn and soybeans. Hay and machinery storage sheds have been built.
Dale and Sue have three sons.
Scott, who has a daughter, Rylee. He works on the farm.
Derek, married to Felicia and they have a daughter Aleah. Derek works for the Township of Whitewater Region.
Travis lives and works in Kingston for Barr Construction, but returns to the farm whenever he can.
Dale is the sixth generation to farm this 100 acres in the last 150 years. The seventh and eight generations are also enjoying life on the farm.
