The Mowat Ranch

The Mowat family, originally of Orkney stock, had long lived in Ottawa. Daniel, Alex, and young Sidney Mowat migrated to Western Canada in 1881, establishing a store at Shoal Lake, Manitoba. On hearing that the railway would cross the western prairie by 1882 with the resultant establishment of the new capital of the North-West Territories somewhere in the Qu'Appelle region, the brothers left Shoal Lake for the vicinity of the Qu'Appelle lakes, where they opened a store and trading post. When, in July, 1882, Regina was named the new capital, the Mowat brothers immediately moved there, establishing a large general store on Broad Street, which was managed by Daniel Mowat.
In the same year the brothers also began operating a large horse ranch on Long Creek about two miles from the present town of Avonlea. This ranch was supervised by Alex Mowat with the assistance of his brother Sidney. As there is no record of this ranch being leased it is thought that they took a homestead and let their horses graze on crown lands around the homestead. At its peak there were approximately 2,000 horses on the ranch. Although it was only about two miles distance from Avonlea, it was completely in the wilderness and for many years provided the only place where the travellers could find shelter on the journey from Regina to Wood Mountain or Willow Bunch. With the encroachment of settlement and the disappearance of the open range, the ranch had to be given up.
In later years, Mowat's ranch became a favourite picnic spot.

Avonlea & District Museum