History 1881-1912

In 2001 Local Historian John Duerkop set out to discover what happened on the site before the Forest Nursery was established.

From 1881 to 1908 the southern portion of the site was part of the Temperance Colonization Society's land grant. The northern portion of the site was homesteaded by William Stephanson in 1886. Homestead papers show that Stephanson built a well, stone house, stable, milk house, and log stable; however it is not known exactly where the buildings were located.

In 1908 prominent Saskatoon Real Estate man F.E. Kerr (no known relation to Superintendent Kerr) purchased all of the land included in the Forest Nursery Station. Kerr promptly sold a 50% interest to his business partner J.C. Drinkle. In 1910 the land was sold to the Hon. W.C. Sutherland, speaker of the provincial legislature, whom the Town of Sutherland was named for. Sutherland sold the land to the Crown for $30,000 for use as a Dominion Forest Nursery Station in 1912.