Cannington Manor was original established in 1882 by Captain Edward Michell Pierce (died June 20, 1888) as an aristocratic English colony in south-east Saskatchewan. Captain Pierce established an agricultural college and attracted remittance men as students for £100 a year. The intention of the college was to instruct these bachelor sons of wealthy families to farm and homestead in the 'Last Best West'. The brothers Ernest, Billy and Bertie Beckton constructed "Didsbury", a ranch house within the Cannington Manor colony.
The cultural and recreational life emulated English upper class society. Thoroughbred racing, polo matches, theatrical plays, fox hunting, billiards, soccer and tennis were all enjoyed by the colony students and settlers. This was a contrast to the neighbouring homesteaders who were barely eking out a living clearing their land and making improvements to earn land title grants from the Dominion Government. Soon a dairy, a school / town hall, blacksmith, Moose Mountain Trading ompany store, Harold Fripp flour mill, C.E. Phipps Land Titles Office, carpenter shop, Mitre hotel were built to support a burgeoning community which soon reached 200 residents.
Captain Pierce, the founder of the community died on June 20, 1888. C.E. Phipps established the land titles office in 1889 and moved to Oxbow in 1891. Spencer Page was the colony's first teacher in 1889 before turning to politics in 1894. Louis Kent the second teacher in Cannington Manor started his duties in 1894 and passed on in 1896. Robert Bird the Moose Mountain Trading Company store keeper moved to B.C. in 1898. Ernest Maltby postmaster and his wife Mary arrived in 1892 moved in 1901 to B.C.
In 1901 - 1902 the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) regional branch line was constructed 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the village rather than through the village. During a time of travel by horseback this distance was detrimental to the growth of the community. The passing of the founder, a few years earlier, a drought and low grain prices soon made it unfeasible for settlers to continue the lifestyle at Cannington Manor.