As noted in other posts, Hugh Simpson (1858-1949) married Helen Thornton (180-1932) and they moved to Broadview SK in 1901 where Hugh was the principal of the school and also a minister. In 1910 as land in southeast Saskatchewan was opened up for homesteading, many Broadview people, including Hugh and Helen, moved to the Lynthorpe area to begin farming. Having attended Queen’s University and lived in much more settled Ontario it is hard to fathom what their dream was. As the depression hit and Helen’s health deteriorated they retreated to Broadview and soon took up town living.
With that in mind I include a photo of the homestead from 1915. The land looks desolate and the building without decoration. When I zoom in on the photo I can see a sign which says the house was also a post office with a mail drop in the door. How did they survive the long winters? How did Helen manage to stay sane?
And here is a map of the area. The big B is roughly where Wood Mountain is; the bottom of the map is the USA border. The little town of Lynnthorpe which was their mailing address seems to have disappeared.
