Motherwell Historic Park

Pleasance Crawford is a Canadian landscape and garden-history researcher
and writer and the co-author of Garden Voices: Two Centuries of Canadian
Garden Writing.

Ian Clarke, now with Alberta Culture, was Chief Historian during Parks Canada’s investigation of W.R. Motherwell’s farmstead, “Lanark Place,” in southeastern Saskatchewan. Lyle Dick and Sarah Carter were also involved in this investigation, which formed the basis of Parks Canada’s restoration of this farmstead and its subsequent opening as a National Historic Park.

This publication actually contains three reports: “Motherwell Historic Park: Structural and Use History of the Landscape and Outbuildings,” by Ian Clarke; “W.R. Motherwell’s Stone House: A Structural History,” by Lyle Dick; and “A Materials History of the Motherwell Home,” by Sarah Carter. Each is well illustrated with maps, archival photographs, and drawings developed during the project; and each is very well documented. Beyond its importance as a record of the landscape, architectural, social, and materials history of the Motherwell site, the publication is a model of excellence in the documentation of an historic site and could be a valuable reference to any group undertaking research prior to a landscape and/or architectural restoration.