Noble Cultivators Retail Manufacturing Building

Nobleford

Street Address:	914 Highway Avenue
Community:	Nobleford
Boundaries:	Lot 21, Block 5, Plan 9912580
Contributing Resources:	Building: 1

ATS Legal Description:

Mer	Rge	Twp	Sec	LSD
4	23	11	3	9 (ptn.)

PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):

Plan	Block	Lot	Parcel
9912580	5	21

Latitude/Longitude:

Latitude	Longitude	CDT	Datum Type
49.883099	-113.053853	Secondary Source	NAD83

UTM Reference:

Northing	Easting	Zone	CDT	Datum Type

Recognition

Recognition Authority:	Province of Alberta
Designation Status:	Provincial Historic Resource
Date of Designation:	2002/07/04

Historical Information

Built:	1942 to 1942
Period of Significance:	1942 to 1951
Theme(s):	Developing Economies : Technology and Engineering Peopling the Land : People and the Environment
Historic Function(s):	Industry : Machinery or Other Equipment Manufacturing Facility
Current Function(s):
Architect:
Builder:
Context:	HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE The historical significance of the Nobleford Cultivators Building in Nobleford, built in 1942, lies in its direct association with the manufacture and distribution of Noble Blades to farm implement dealers throughout North America. It is also directly associated with Charles Noble, one of the most successful dryland farmers in western Canada, and the inventor of the Noble Blade, used by farmers throughout the world. He was also the single most influential person in the development of Nobleford and its hinterland. He was the winner of several world grain championships, made an honorary doctor of laws at the University of Alberta, and, in 1951, became the first inductee into the Alberta Agricultural Hall of Fame. In short, he is probably the most widely recognized name in the history of agricultural development in the province. Although the building did not accommodate the invention of the Noble Blade, it did see the manufacture and distribution of massive quantities of it, and was the firm's main building from 1942 until the construction of the new plant building in 1951. HISTORICAL CONTEXT When the Canadian Pacific Railway extended a spur line to Lethbridge in 1909, much of the land in the area had already been opened up for farming. This had been due primarily to several vast irrigation projects which were already showing positive results. The coming of the railway also provided incentive for further extension of the farming frontier to the east, and into what would later be known as the dry belt. One of the first to take advantage of the availability of so much land east of the rail line was Charles Sherwood Noble. In 1909, Noble sold his farm near Claresholm and purchased several sections of land just south of Kehoe Lake. When the CPR decided to put up a station on part of the land they had re-acquired from him, the community which was subdivided around the station was appropriately named 'Noble.' In 1913, it was renamed Nobleford. Charles Noble took up residence in Nobleford and eventually owned thirteen lots. He also proceeded to develop his farm, and, with grain prices increasing during World War I, the Noble Foundation prospered. Noble used most of the profits to acquire more land, mostly from the CPR and the McCormack Estates Company. By 1917, the Foundation, which included Grand View Farm and Mountain View Farm, was the largest in the region. The Foundation continued to acquire other farms, as well as two ranches. By the end of the war, it held 30,000 acres and employed upward to 300 people, making it the largest dryland farm in the British Empire. Noble himself, however, was more than just a farmer. Since growing up on a farm in Iowa, he had sold horses, managed a real estate firm, and operated both a butcher shop and a farm equipment business. He now applied much of his experience and his inventiveness to his Foundation, experimenting with different varieties of grain and crop rotating. In 1912, he was awarded the title of International Flax King, in 1915 World Oats King, and in 1916 World Wheat King at expositions in the United States. Nobleford also prospered with the times, and, in 1918, it was incorporated as a village with over 200 people. The good times, however, did not last. With the end of the war, and the location of so many veterans on newly opened farmland throughout North America, a glut occurred in the international wheat market. In southeastern Alberta, the dropping grain prices, coupled with a lengthy period of drought, resulted in a major depression. Throughout the early 1920's, hundreds of farms were foreclosed. The biggest loser was Charles Noble, much of whose empire had been acquired on credit payable against what he had hoped would be continuing prosperity. By 1923, he was flat broke with all of his land turned over to creditors. Noble, however, did not throw in the towel. Because of his experience, the local bank, to which he had foreclosed most of his land, hired him to be their salesman. He then began to rent parcels of land himself on a cost share basis, and, in the prosperous times of the late 1920's, he started once again to turn a profit. In 1934, he purchased much of the old Grand View Farm, and, as before, he undertook to sink his profits into acquiring even more land. In 1930, he and his sons incorporated their 8,000 acre operation as Noble Farms Ltd. That very year, however, the effects of the great depression began to be felt, with falling grain prices and another wave of drought in southern Alberta. This time, Noble decided to take direct action. He had, by now, learned a lot about agriculture through experimentation, and he began to visit farm research stations throughout the country to try to find a solution for all dryland farmers. The biggest problem in southern Alberta was soil drifting. Noble had long advocated, and had regularly practiced, strip farming, and this went to offsetting part of the problem. Another proposal, put forward by Asael Palmer, stressed that, if summer fallowed fields were left uncultivated, and the straw, stubble and other plant residue left on the surface of the soil, the land would be better protected from wind erosion. For the practice of "trash cover" to work effectively however, something had to be done about the new weeds that would continue to grow. This is where Noble's inventiveness came into play. In 1936, while experimenting in his farm machine shop in Nobleford, and working closely with scientists at the Lethbridge Research Station, he came up with a V-shaped plow blade which could slice through unplowed ground, kill weeds without burying the stubble, and operate in heavy stubble without clogging. The scientists at Lethbridge were impressed, and, through their advocacy, the newly patented Noble Blade began to attract attention. Through its use, and other improved techniques in farm management, Alberta farmers began to at least partially recover from the effects of the great depression. News spread, and soon the Noble Blade was being used throughout North America. Noble Farms Ltd. then became Noble Cultivators Ltd., as the production of plow blades soon eclipsed farming as the main focus of the company. In 1942, Noble constructed a large manufacturing building in Nobleford, from which a steady stream of Noble Blades were made and sent to farm equipment dealers across the continent. They were also developed and used in Europe and even the Soviet Union. Noble continued to experiment and improve his product. With the construction of a major plant in 1950, he began to develop carriages for his blades as well as the blades themselves. His sons gradually took over the business, and, with the death of Charles in 1957, Gerald Noble became its director, all the while operating from the plant in Nobleford. In 1977, the firm was sold to the Versatile Company of Winnipeg, which continued to operate the plant. When Versatile went out of business a few years later however, the plant was shut down. In time, a new company was formed called New Noble, and it continues to make plow blades in the old plant today, although at a more modest scale than Noble Cultivators had. ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE The Noble Cultivators Retail Manufacturing building was built in 1941. In many ways it is typical of the kind of building erected throughout the province at the time, to serve various commercial, industrial and recreational purposes. Its design is very simple: a rectangular footprint, with a clear span roof that allowed for complete flexibility in the arrangement of interior spaces. This building was divided into office and manufacturing areas, but could just as easily have contained a kitchen and hall, or a retail business of some sort. Minimal changes have been made to the building. Most notable is the addition of stucco over the original insulbrick exterior cladding. This is a good example of a building type which is becoming increasingly rare.

Additional Information

Object Number:	4665-0805
Designation File:	DES 2077
Related Listing(s):
Heritage Survey File:	HS 30973
Website Link:
Data Source:	Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch, Old St. Stephen's College, 8820 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P8 (File: Des. 2077)