Description of Historic Place

The Thompson Farm is a small farm in the Rural Saanich area of Saanich, containing a number of wood-frame buildings including a house, water tower, barn, root cellar, chicken coops, workshop, and tool shed. The farm buildings are closely arranged around the farmhouse. The property has a rose garden and orchard.

Heritage Value

The Thompson Farm is significant as a demonstration of the role of farming in the local economy. From 1916 the Harold and Myra Thompson family farmed the land and over time erected several outbuildings, most of which have survived and form the most important historic grouping of farm buildings in Saanich. The farm now acts as a demonstration farm, recreating farming customs and crafts of the past.

This site is significant as it contains a rare surviving water tower built c.1928 by Harold Thompson. The wooden structure has a base with battered walls surmounted by the rectangular, on plan, tank housing. The base contained a workshop and two bedrooms, related to farming functions. Huge beams and the tank were moved from another water tower that was demolished that year, demonstrating the reuse of buildings and structures demanded by the limited revenue associated with agricultural pursuits.

Source: Saanich Municipal Archives, file 5271 Old West Saanich Road

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements of the heritage character of the Thompson Farm include its:
- form, scale and massing of the vernacular farm buildings
- spatial arrangement of the farm buildings in relation to each other and the farm house
- the water tower, and its banks of multi-paned windows
- varied use of wooden construction and cladding including shingle cladding on the house and drop siding on the water tower
- re-used building materials
- battered walls on water tower