Sutherland Forest Nursery Station

The Sutherland Forest Nursery Station was established in 1913 by the Dominion Department of the Interior to supplement its first nursery station built at Indian Head in 1903. The nursery was established primarily to produce trees for farm shelterbelts, staff also carried out horticultural research and used the site to demonstrate how trees could beautify the landscape.

Norman Ross, head of the Tree Planting Division at Indian Head designed the Sutherland Forest Nursery Station in the English Landscape Style. In 1914 James Mclean the first Superintendent oversaw the construction of the buildings, the laying out of the roadways, the planting of the shelterbelts and ornamental plantings along the roadways. The roadways in the park have changed little since the site was laid out.

Over its lifetime the Sutherland Forest Nursery Station had a huge impact on the prairie landscape. Between 1913 and 1964 the Station distributed over 147 million trees to prairie farmers. It contributed significantly to horticultural research and showed how trees could beautify the homestead. The Nursery Station was also a valuable recreational asset to the surrounding communities.

Buildings from left to right, the pump house, the Superintendent's Residence, the packing shed and the foreman's house. The boarding house was added later in 1916.
Photo credit: Saskatoon Public Library, Local History Room [LH-5135-A].