Photo L-R: County Councillor and Chair of ASB, Bob Chrenek, Chair of the Agricultural Services Board with family members Doug Spry, Terry Spry, Shirley Spry, landowner Jamie Johnson, Veva Campbell, Frank Campbell, Joey Campbell, and Sonja Raven, Agricultural Fieldman with the County of Grande Prairie.

By Erika Rolling

Agriculture

Johnson family of Sexsmith receives Heritage Homestead Award

Jun 24, 2022 | 6:00 AM

The Johnson family homestead east of Sexsmith has been given a Heritage Homestead Award from the County of Grande Prairie.

The fourth-generation family farm was established in 1911 and is currently run by Jamie Johnson, the great-grandson of homesteaders Soren and Marie Johnson.

On Tuesday, the family was presented with a decorative sign during an award presentation by the County’s Agricultural Services Board for their contributions to agriculture and the County over the years.

Soren and Marie Johnson, the original homesteaders travelled the Edson Trail for thirty days before getting to their destination of the current land located at SW2-74-5-W6M – which their great-grandson, Jamie Johnson farms today.

The couple emigrated from Denmark, living in the United States before moving to Saskatchewan and then making their way to their Alberta settlement.

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Throughout the generations, the farm changed hands, including in 1919 from Soren to son James Johnson, then to his son Jim Johnson in 1958, which was passed onto his son, Jamie in 1986.

The land started with 160 acres and has grown to three quarter sections.

A close family relative, Doug Spry (whose wife Shirley is cousins with Jamie) says they started out with four teams of oxen, building their house, barn and fences from scratch.

“They also brought twenty head of cattle with them,” Spry says about the couple’s journey up the Edson Trail.

“They got going, and started farming with oxen and graduated up to horses, then onto the steam engine and the gas models that we have today.”

“The existing farm there now with Jamie is strictly grain farming and he’s by himself and does his own thing, with the land he farms right close by and gets along there pretty good,” Spry noted.

Spry says the oxen and cattle started the farm but moved on to include crops with horses and poultry. The focus is solely grains and cereals today; with wheat, barley, canola, and oats.

Spry says the family was quite excited to receive the milestone achievement.

“There isn’t all that many of them (homesteads) that are still existing today, where they’ve gone on 100 years and staying in the same family like that, so it is quite an honour to be recognized and have the sign so people can see that.”

The Heritage Homestead Award from the County recognizes farm/ranch families who homesteaded and continuously farmed/ranched the same land for 100 years or more.