MP-0000.25.433 | Old and new home on the Prairies, AB, about 1922
Old and new home on the Prairies, AB, about 1922
Anonyme - Anonymous
About 1922, 20th century
Silver salts and transparent ink on glass - Gelatin dry plate process
8 x 10 cm
Gift of Mr. Stanley G. Triggs
MP-0000.25.433
© McCord Museum
Description
Keywords: Architecture (8646) , Photograph (77678) , rural (407)
Tags
Keys to History
During World War I, the price of wheat and other commodities was high, and prairie farmers got a good cash return for their work. Many were able to build substantial dwellings to replace their original cruder houses. The handsome brick house on the left in this picture would have been built during or just after the war, which ended in 1918. It replaced the much smaller wooden house on the right, which probably continued to be used for storage. When agricultural prices fell in subsequent years, many farmers found themselves in financial difficulties, which only got worse during the terrible Depression of the 1930s. There are many houses like this one still in use on the Prairies.
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What
Here are two farmhouses, one old, the other new, symbols of 20th century farm prosperity.
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Where
The houses are in Alberta, but this scene of the growing prosperity of prairie farms was repeated thousands of times across the Prairies.
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When
The picture was taken in the years just after the rising grain prices of World War I enabled farmers to build these substantial houses.
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Who
There are no human figures here. This picture symbolizes the prosperity of the years after 1918 on the Prairies.
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