About The Barn
The Orr Family
Tom Orr and his wife Emily immigrated to Canada from Idaho in the early 1900's. Once Tom saw the beauty and opportunity Canada held he sold his farm and decided to settle in the Orton area. They packed their family and traveled by train to Lethbridge Alberta.
They finished the long journey by driving their animals on horseback across the plains until reaching the farm. The farm was eventually passed on to Tom and Emily's youngest son, Sidney Orr and his wife Retta, who continued to farm the land and expand.
When they passed away, the farm was given to their youngest son Monty Orr and his wife Ronalee, who still live on the land today. They decided to open the farm to share the many stories, and rich history with upcoming generations and surrounding communities. Their hard work and dedication created Windy Rafters Barn as we know it today.
The Barn
The Barn is believed to be built between 1910 - 1915 and was built by Tom Orr, his family, neighbours and hired help.
The Barn is extremely unique for this area and time period due to the fact that it was built without a hay loft, instead the entire main area was left open and could hold a lot more loose hay. We've only been able to find one other barn similar to it built in the Granum area unfortunately portions of it have fallen with time.
Monty has kept the Barn in the most authentic condition possible, preserving the hard work, history, and family legacy that has been passed down for generations.
Windy Rafters Today
Today the Barn is still owned, and ran by the Orr family!
However the focus has shifted away from survival and the harsh realities of farming the plains and instead works towards interactive education about the past, preserving the stories of the family who came before us, and sharing the beautiful land and architecture with others.
We hope to continue taking people a step back in time with us to experience the Wild West.