William Robert Bell was a militia officer, farmer, and businessman who was born in Brockville, Ontario

Brockville, Ontario

Brockville is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in the Thousand Islands region. Though it serves as the seat of the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, Brockville is politically independent and is grouped with Leeds and Grenville for census purposes only.Known as the "City of the 1000...

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Bells military history is connected with the Fenian raids

Fenian raids

Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...

 of 1866 and 1870 where he achieved the rank of Major.

Bells most important contributions to history were in the field of agriculture. He was involved at one time in a large-scale agricultural operation, known as the Bell-Kelso Farm, and located in Minnesota. Building on that experience he began a model farm in what is now Indian Head, Saskatchewan

Indian Head, Saskatchewan

Indian Head is a town in southeast Saskatchewan, Canada, east of Regina. The town is directly north of the Trans-Canada Highway. The town is known for its federally-operated Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration experimental farm and tree nursery that produces seedlings for shelter...

. Started in 1882 and encompassing 55,000 acres, it was known as Bell Farm.