Ottawa's Farm: A History of the Central Experimental Farm

William A. Waiser is a professor of history at the University of
Saskatchewan, and the author of Saskatchewan’s Playground: A History
of Prince Albert National Park and Park Prisoners: The Untold Story of
Western Canada’s National Parks, 1915–1946.

It’s known locally as “the farm,” and it’s been a fixture in
Ottawa’s life for over 110 years. In 1886, in an effort to provide
practical advice and assistance to Canadian farmers, the federal
government established a series of model or experimental farm stations
across the country. The main or central farm was located in Nepean
township, a mere five kilometres south of the Parliament buildings.

Ottawa’s Farm can best be described as a social history of what was
arguably Canada’s most famous farm at one time. Readers looking for
the story of the development of a particular strain of wheat or variety
of apple will not find it here. Nor should they expect an institutional
history, detailing how the government-run farm fulfilled its research
mandate. What the book does provide is a behind-the-scenes look at some
of the people who have worked and lived at the farm since the late 19th
century. There are personal glimpses of the staff, among them Charles
Gooderham, the Dominion apiarist, who was often called away from his
work to subdue a swarm of bees in Ottawa. There are also descriptions of
how the scientists, searching for a name for a new flower or shrub,
would honor one of the farm residents, including the stenographers.
Finally, there are tales of the so-called farm kids— children of
employees who regarded the farm as their own little fiefdom and who take
great delight today in sharing their memories.

The book is richly illustrated with photographs and includes a color
portfolio of various farm scenes (in particular the popular Macoun
Memorial Garden). But what animates the volume is a sense of
community—the same feeling that prompted the friends of the farm to
undertake this project and document how the central experimental farm
was much more than a scientific institution.