The story of Lowe Farm began in the early 1880’s. Around the year 1882 three Englishmen, J. Lowe, Mr. Rose, and Mr. Hope, who apparently were men of means and influence, obtained large tracts of land at very low cost in the area west of Morris and immediately north of the Mennonite West Reserve. They established farms in the districts now known as Lowe Farm, Rose Farm and Hope Farm respectively. An idea of the size of their holdings may be gained from the fact that in 1897 John Lowe held 13 sections (8320 acres) in and adjacent to what is now the school district of Lowe Farm.
John Lowe is listed in Canada’s book of Who’s Who in 1910. Born in 1824, in Warrington, Lancashire, England, he arrived in Canada at the age of sixteen. He was first employed as a bookkeeper in a Montreal fur house, and was a reporter for the Montreal Gazette in 1846. In 1852, he left for Toronto, where he became involved with another newspaper. He entered the civil service as assistant Deputy Minister of Agriculture, with the title of Secretary in 1869, having in charge, immigration to Canada. John Lowe was secretary of Agriculture in 1874, the year the Mennonites were immigrating to Canada, and had established correspondence with them regarding their settlement in the province of Manitoba. In July 1888, he retired from public office. He took great interest in Manitoba farming, and was known as the founder of Lowe Farm.
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