The Nicolle Flats Nature Area is home to what remains of the Nicolle family homestead, and Buffalo Pound Provincial Park is hosting a traditional picnic to pay homage to the historic site.
On Aug. 5, the first Homestead Picnic in several years will fill the homestead’s yard all afternoon, recreating the famous picnics that Charles Nicolle and his family once enjoyed.
“They were known to have these great, grand family gatherings,” said Rhett Painter, parks interpreter at Buffalo Pound. “We're going to recreate a historic circa-1903 picnic that, back in the day, was put on by the family.”
Like the original picnics, the event will feature refreshments and dainties, with some old-fashioned activities for the kids to participate in — things like using a washboard to clean laundry, and other historical games.
There will also be horse-drawn wagon rides offered free of charge, much like the original family would have experienced when they were living in the area in the early 1900s.
The Nicolle homestead is now a hidden gem in Buffalo Pound Park, tucked in the far eastern corner of the parkland. Charles Nicolle, a veteran of the then-named North West Mounted Police in the mid-1870s, settled in the Qu’appelle Valley and built his house in 1881. He named his farm Mapleford, and the Nicolle family lived and farmed that land until 1959.
It is only the fieldstone house that remains standing on the original yard, with the remains of the old barn’s foundations fenced for safety. The roof has been replaced, but the rest of the house is completely original.
“We just really wanted to recognize that is a really important part of our park,” said Painter. “Often when we think of Buffalo Pound, we think of our lake, of fishing and boating, but this is a historic site that's within our park itself, which is really unique.”
Bracketed by marshland and rolling prairie flatland, the Nicolle Flats Nature Area is a popular spot for hiking and witnessing the many animals that make the area home.
The trails from within Buffalo Pound out to the homestead offer a scenic two-hour hike, which is well worth experiencing — but for the day of the Homestead Picnic, Painter directs picnic-goers to approach the homestead from the other direction.
Following Highway 301, there is a grid road that circles down into the valley and connects to the Nicole Flats Nature Area, where there is room to park and it is only a short, five-minute trek down the path into the homestead.
“We're going to have signage out to make it easy, but you do come back into the park through sort of a back way, by the Moose Jaw River,” said Painter.
Painter recommends bringing along a lawn chair, as seating at the picnic tables will be limited, and plenty of water. The spring near the homestead is really only suitable for animals to drink from.
Sunscreen and bug spray would also be handy, as there is limited shade and plenty of mosquitos.
The Homestead Picnic will take place on Aug.5, Saskatchewan Day, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Nicolle Homestead. For more information, call the Buffalo Pound Provincial Park office at (306) 694-3229, or check their webpage.
