Sam Harris was born on May 27, 1885, in Broadwoodkelly, Devon, England, and immigrated to Canada in 1904. He initially worked as a farmhand in Manitoba before the promise of land in the West drew him farther westward. After homesteading briefly north of Regina and working on grain-elevator construction crews, Harris purchased two parcels of land near High Prairie sight unseen. In the fall of 1910, he travelled north with his team to inspect the property, enduring cold mornings, difficult trails and icy river crossings along the way.
When Harris arrived, High Prairie did not yet exist as a town. He camped on his property, returned temporarily to Edmonton for supplies and employment, and then came back north to develop the land into a productive farm. The arrival of the railway transformed the area: High Prairie emerged in 1914 as the end of steel and quickly became a lively frontier community. Harris’s farm, located on E½-20-74-16 and NW-20, became the foundation of his life in the district.
In 1913, Harris met Amy Hine, who had come west from Toronto in 1911 to work at St. Peter’s Mission near Grouard. They married in 1914 and established a comfortable home on the farm, where they raised two children: Billy, born in 1915, and Ruth, born in 1917. The family moved into High Prairie in 1927, and the following year Sam built a substantial new home in town. Their farm was then rented to tenants, including Henry Elder, who farmed the property for 34 years.
Harris became a prominent businessman and community figure in High Prairie. He established the town’s first insurance agency, served as an agent for Canadian government radio licences, represented several loan and trust companies, and provided legal services as a Commissioner of Oaths. In 1927, he also secured the John Deere agency, selling his first new tractor—a John Deere Model D—to Peter Daly. Harris was a charter member of the local Masonic Lodge and held several senior honours within the organization. His farm, business activities and community service placed him among the people who helped shape High Prairie during its formative years.
