Michelsen Farmstead Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Michelsen Farmstead
The restored Michelsen Farmstead.
General information
Architectural style	Victorian
Town or city	533 2nd Ave. & 6th St. Stirling, Alberta
Country	Canada
Coordinates	49°29′53″N 112°31′30″W / 49.498°N 112.525°W / 49.498; -112.525
Construction started	1902
Completed	1912
Demolished	Provincial Historic Site Museum
Client	Stirling Historical Society & Village of Stirling
Technical details
Structural system	Wood

The Andreas Michelsen Farmstead is a special place in Stirling, Alberta. It started as a small two-room house in 1902, built by Andreas Michelsen. By 1912, it grew into a seven-room home. Not much has changed since then!

This old farm has a beautiful 1 1/2-story house with a porch that wraps all around it. There are also many other buildings, like a barn, a place to store grain, a shed for baby calves, and even an outhouse. The farm also has a garden and a dugout for water. It's located in the northwest part of the National Historic Site of Stirling.

The Michelsen family lived here until 1995. Then, the village of Stirling and the Stirling Historical Society bought the farm. They wanted to turn it into a place where people could learn about the past. The farmstead is now a Provincial Historic Resource. It's been carefully fixed up to look like it did in the early 1900s.

Today, the farmstead is a museum. It shows what life was like from 1900 to the 1930s. Every summer, the Historical Society hosts fun day camps for kids. They also have an old-fashioned harvest dance in October.

A Place for Community Fun
The Michelsen Family Story
Fun Events at the Farmstead
See also

A Place for Community Fun

The Michelsen home was a popular spot for many years. The family often hosted lively dances and parties. A fiddler would play music while people danced between the two rooms. If there were many dancers, they would even move the party to the barn's hayloft! These barn dances were famous for over 75 years.

As time passed, a train service to Lethbridge made it easier for people to travel. But the Michelsen Farmstead still remained a favorite gathering place. Farmers from nearby areas would often bring their horses and wagons to the farm. They would leave them there, sometimes for days, while they took the train to Lethbridge.

The farm was not just popular with adults. Kids loved it too! The hayloft was a perfect spot for "sleepovers." The young Michelsen boys and their friends played endless games of "Cops and Robbers." The Michelsen boys were always the "bad guys" in these games. One neighbor worried about their future because of this "unlawful play." But it's funny how things turn out: Glen Michelsen was the first person from Stirling to join the RCMP. Two of his brothers also became law enforcement officers!

The Michelsen Farmstead is still important today, even though no Michelsens live there now. In 2001, it was officially named a Provincial Historic Resource. The house and other buildings were restored to look like they did in the 1930s.

The Michelsen Family Story

Andreas Michelsen was born in Sleth, Denmark in 1857. His wife, Kirsten Marie, was born in Aarhus, Denmark in 1854. They had a big family with four boys and four girls. Their oldest daughter, Lena, was born in Denmark in 1880.

The Michelsens joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Around 1882, they moved to Monroe, Utah to be closer to their church. They had seven more children while living in Monroe.

In 1900, the church asked some of its members to move to Alberta, Canada. There was a lot of land there, but it was very dry. Andreas and Kirsten first took their two oldest children by train to Stirling, Alberta. Andreas wasn't sure about moving there permanently at first. But his four sons saw great opportunities in the area.

So, they decided Stirling was a good place for the family. The four of them went back to Utah to get the rest of their family and their belongings. In 1901, Stirling became their new home.

Soon after arriving, Andreas and his sons got a job with the LDS Church. They helped build a canal from Kimball, Alberta to the Stirling Siding. At first, the family lived in a small tent. Once the canal was finished, they moved to their own land in Stirling. The Michelsens officially got their land from the Church in 1904 as payment for their work on the canal.

In 1902, a small two-room house was built on their land. A local carpenter, George Oler, added more rooms in 1912. Andreas was very involved in his church and the community. He was even part of the Stirling Town Council in 1909 and again from 1913-1914.

Andreas and his four sons – Niels, Sirn, Dan, and Drace – farmed and raised cattle. They worked in the Stirling area and near Wrentham, Alberta using horses. Later, when tractors were invented, they got their own Threshing machine.

Andreas (Drace), Niels, and Dan were great basketball players in Stirling. They won championships for several years! Lena married James Austin and had a son. She later married Sam Lessard. Andreas (Drace) never married. Annie married Urbann Young and had two boys. Sadly, Hulda died as a child.

Carrie married Alfred Hirsche and had five boys and one girl. Niels married Verda Spackman and had two boys and a girl. Daniel married Lulu Barton and had four boys and two girls. Soren (Sirn) married Elva Lybbert and had three girls and two boys. Sirn and Elva raised their family in the Michelsen Farmstead. Sirn passed away there in 1978.

One of Sirn's cowboy friends, Earl Bascom, was his wife Elva's first cousin. Earl Bascom was a famous cowboy artist. He often stayed with Sirn and Elva at the Michelsen Farmstead. It even became a temporary art studio where he created some of his artwork!

Fun Events at the Farmstead

The Michelsen Farmstead hosts many exciting events throughout the year!

Summer Fun

Old fashioned day at the Farm: Kids can enjoy a day-camp experience. These camps happen during the first and third weeks of July and August.
Music on the veranda: Listen to live music on the farm's porch. This also takes place during the first and third weeks of July and August.
Stirling Settler Days: Get free tours of the Michelsen Farmstead during this special event.

Autumn Festival

Fall Festival Village Market: Find homemade crafts, delicious baked goods, and unique gift items. This market is held in September.

Spring Celebrations

Historic Lethbridge Week: The farmstead participates in this week-long celebration of local history in May.

Michelsen Farmstead facts for kids

Contents