Sebben family farm part of North Easthope’s early rural history

John Sebben plows with a team of white Percheron horses and a single-furrow walking plow. He won the “Best Finish” class in the boys under-20 division at the Perth County Plowing Match held on the Charles Bell farm in Downie Township. Photo courtesy of Joan Sebben

By Gary West

In the early 1900s, dairy farmers in North Easthope Township, like John Sebben, relied on determination, hard work and strong backs to build both a livelihood and a family on acreages that would be considered small by today’s standards.

Sebben was raised alongside three brothers and later served his country as a trooper in the Second World War from 1942-1945. After returning home, he married Florence in 1950. Together, they raised five children: Dorothy (1952), Allan (1953), Ruth (1955), Stanley (1957) and Joan (1969).

Tragically, John died of cancer in 1969, within 24 hours of his 49th birthday. His youngest daughter, Joan, was just two months old at the time.

Joan credits her mother for raising the family with strength and grace after her father’s passing. Over the years, she has come to know her father through family stories, photographs and treasured keepsakes that document life on the farm located on the eastern edge of Stratford in North Easthope Township.

The Sebben farm once stood at what is now the corner of Perth Road 111 and Highway 7/8, the current site of Bethel Pentecostal Church. The original farm buildings have since been demolished, but memories of the property remain vivid for family members.

Historical photographs show John Sebben plowing with a team of white Percheron horses and a single-furrow walking plow – a skill that required patience and precision. In one notable competition at the Perth County Plowing Match, held on the farm of Charles Bell in Downie Township, Sebben won the “Best Finish” class in the boys under-20 division, a testament to his craftsmanship in the field.

Other photos capture John Sebben’s Holstein heifers heading to summer pasture on land he owned near the Stratford airport. Joan believes the cattle were likely driven along the sideroad now known as Perth Road 111 to reach the pasture.

A particularly cherished image shows a young Joan, just three years old, learning to skate on the frozen front lawn beside the family farmhouse – a simple but lasting reminder of rural life in another era.

Through photographs and shared memories, the Sebben family farm remains an important part of North Easthope’s agricultural heritage and of one family’s enduring story.