Haddock Nursery And Tree Farm
The Haddock Nursery Is A Good Example Of An Early Private Experimental Nursery In Alberta. Situated On Part Of An Original 240 Acre Land Grant Made In 1887 To The Metis Children Of Hudson Bay Company Officials, The Land After Several Changes In Ownership And Use, Was Purchased By Calgary Horticulturalists Frank And Doris Haddock. Here The Haddocks And Their Eldest Son Fred Developed A Well-Known Nursery Supplying Plants For Their Own Landscaping Business And To The Retail Market In Calgary.
Following The Riel Rebellion Of 1885, Compensary Land Grants Were Provided For Both English And French Speaking Metis. In The Summer Of 1887, On What Is Now Known As The Western City Limit (Strathcona), Land Grants Were Given To Two Mixed Blood Children, Sons Of James Roland Of Edmonton And Charles Whitford Of Red Deer. A Joint Family Purchase, Neither Families Intended To Settle The Land And Immediately Turned Over The Property To Calgary Land Dealer Joseph Maw. It Was Not Until 1900 That William Tregillius Purchased The Land To Extend His Massive Property Interests. By 1916, The Land Containing Today's Haddock Property Reverted To The Quebec Bank After Tregillius'death. Held By The Bank And Its Successor The Royal Bank Of Canada Until 1931, The Property (Nw 1/4 Of Section 14, Township 24 In Range 2 West Of The Fifth Meridian) Was Acquired By Fox Rancher Harry Beacon In May Of The Same Year. Beacon Subdivided The Land, Selling Portions To The Calary Recreational Club But Retaining The Nw Corner Of Section 14 For Himself. He Improved The Land, Previously Leased By The Bank For Grazing, For The Purposes Of A Fox Ranch. It Is Possible That The Hired Man's House, Still On The Property Today, Was Built At That Time. This Utilitarian Bunkhouse Featured A Substantial Portico Window Installed To Facilitate The Monitoring Of Foxes.
In 1943, Beacon Sold The Farm To Charles Hrubos And His Partner John Matey. Matey And Hrubos Were Responsible For The Modern Development Of The Nursery From 1943 To 1953, Breaking Land, Constructing An Elaborate Series Of Fox Pens(Now Demolished),a Substantial 1.5 Storey Bungalow And Numerous Other Ancillary Structures Including A Barn. They Also Planted 200 Fruit Trees, 300 Spruce And 50 Poplar Trees To Create The Landscape That Eventually Became Haddock's Tree Nursery.
Frank Haddock Immigrated To Canada In 1926 And Worked For The Dominion Experimental Farm In Saskatchewan. He Received His Landscape Training In England, Working On Many Large Estates. His Expertise Was Most Developed In The Propagation And Care Of Trees. He Was Hired By The City Of Calgary In 1926. In 1953, He Purchased The Property And Established The Haddock Tree Nursery. The Twenty Acre Parcel Was Divided Into Various Components, Including A Large Greenhouse In The Sw Corner, A Market Garden Operated By Mrs. Haddock (Fox Pens Were Used To Provide Shelter) And A Tree Plantation That Produced Saplings For Sale To The Public. Among The Varieties Planted By Haddock Were Chestnut, Oak, And Pear. The Fruit Orchard, Planted Previously, Was Open To The Public For Purchasing Fruit.
Haddock Was A Pioneer In The Tree Trade In Alberta And Helped To Establish The Landscape Alberta Nursery Trades Association. His Wife Doris Was A President Of The Calgary Horticultural Society. In Later Years, He And His Son Fred Were Recognized For Their Innovative Hydroseeding Of The Arctic Grasslands. The Family Was Presented An Alberta Achievement Award Prior To Mr. Haddock's Death In 1988. Mrs. Haddock Continues To Preserve The Site With Her Son's Assistance As A Tribute To The Work Of Her Husband.
In 1992, Five Acres Of The Original Site Is Virtually Intact, Demonstrating A Distinguished Pioneer Horticultural Development In Alberta. (1992)
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Photo: Image from google maps