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VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 t h e m at i c f r a m e w o r k , cont e x t p a p e r , & i nv e nto r y s i t e s & donald luxton Associatesinc. C O U N T Y Municipal Heritage Partnership Program Cover (from top to bottom): Q u e e n s t o w n G a r a g e , 2 0 11 Vi e w o f C a r m a n g a y, 1 9 11 (Postcards From the Past. Community Heritage & Family H i s t o r y D i g i t a l L i b r a r y. C a l g a r y Public Library PC_483) Table of contents i ntroduction 01 the mati c f ramework Par k s Can ada S y ste m P lan 04 Develo pme nt of T hem atic Fr ame wo r k 05 Vulcan County T hem atic Frame wo r k D ia g r a m 05 Vulcan County T hem atic Frame wo r k 06 vulcan cou n ty commu n ity c on text pap er Over r eaching T he m e s 09 Fi r st Nations in Vulcan County 10 Settli ng th e Badlands 11 R anchi ng & Far m ing in Vulcan C o u n ty 13 Natural Re sourc e s Developme nt 16 Prai ri e Inge nuity : Te c hnolog y & E n gin e e r in g 17 Co nnecti on to Com m unities 18 Health & We lf ar e 19 Netwo r k of Education 20 Co mmunity, S pir ituality & the C u ltu r a l L a n d sc a p e in Vulcan County 21 Law & Pr ote c tion 22 Spo r ts & Re c r e ation 23 Impo r ted Arc hitec tur e & Local Tr a d e s 24 Co nnecti on to the S tar s 25 Inve ntory s ite s 27 acknow ledgmen t s 70 s ource s & Webs ites 72 i F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 Elevator in Champion. 1914 (Glenbow Archives NA-1262-1) ii introduction I ntroduction Situated on the Canadian Badlands, Vulcan County has a rich and fascinating history rooted in the area’s development as the seminal agricultural growing and shipping centre in the Canadian Prairies. With history spanning thousands of years, First Nations and later early settlers adapted to its open, rugged prairie landscape. With the development of communities beginning in earnest commencing with the building of rail lines through the area, buildings and settlements were slowly established. The communities in Vulcan County have a healthy stock of their historic built environment intact within County limits and building and community histories have been well documented through previous provincial surveys, local history books, publications, archival collections, local history blogs and oral history accounts. In 2011, the Vulcan Business Development Society (VBDS) recognized the need to formally document the area’s highly valued historic resources and set forth to establish a Heritage Management Program. The VBDS has been actively documenting the local history of Vulcan County through various sources including the Vulcan County History Blog. Because of the large number of communities involved and invested in the process, VBDS decided to combine a Heritage Survey and Inventory into one concise program for 2011-2012. The initial step for any heritage program is a Heritage Survey. A Heritage Survey provides an inclusive database of information that identifies the historical buildings, cultural landscapes, archaeological sites and structures in a community. The Heritage Survey serves as a baseline of information for historic sites in Vulcan County and provides Vulcan County with information on the history and value of local buildings for local historical and genealogical research. For this project, 100 sites sampled throughout Vulcan County area were added to the Heritage Survey. From this list of 100 sites, a refined list of the top tier of resources, known as a Places of Interest List was created. Twenty-one sites from the Places of Interest List were selected to add to a Heritage Inventory, which is a comprehensive listing of evaluated heritage sites. The sites were evaluated using a Statement of Significance, which is the national standard for evaluating the heritage value of an historic site. C o m p o n e n t s o f a H e r i ta g e M a n a g ement Program ( M H PP) Heritage Survey Places of Interest Heritage Inventory Register of Historic Places 1 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 VBDS initiated a regional partnership with Vulcan County, the Town of Vulcan, and the Villages of Carmangay, Champion and Milo to meet the shared goals of the project. The partners in the project collaborated to meet the shared goals of the project. The following breakdown of sites were selected by the VBDS, partnering as a region, prior to beginning the project 1. Locale Survey Inventory Town of Vulcan 14 4 Vulcan County* 50 11 Village of Champion 12 2 Village of Milo 12 2 Village of Carmangay Total Sites 12 2 10 0 21 A Thematic Framework and Community Context Paper was also developed for Vulcan County, which guided the writing of Statements of Significance for some select historic 2 sites in the community. The VBDS recently established a Heritage Advisory Board (HAB) and retained Donald Luxton & Associates to undertake the project under the guidance of VBDS Staff and the HAB. Globally, there has been a shift in heritage conservation towards a “values-based approach” that recognizes the importance of embedded historical and cultural values as the basis for understanding our heritage. The former evaluation system placed a numeric or alphabetical value based almost solely on architectural value. The value’s-based approach is based on the recognition of the importance of different interpretations, levels and meanings of heritage value and considers a broad-based view that goes beyond just architectural value. A values-based assessment of heritage also looks at environmental, social/ introduction Volunteers of the 2011-2012 Vulcan County Heritage Project From left to right: Racille Ellis, Champion Community Representative Paul Taylor, Town of Vulcan Councillor Marjorie Weber, Vulcan and District Historical Society Cody Shearer, Vulcan Business Development Society Katie Walker, Village of Milo Councillor Richard Lamber t, Vulcan and District Historical Society Amy Rupp, Village of Champion CAO Kym Nichols, Village of Carmangay Mayor Leslie Warren, Vulcan Business Development Society William Roebuck, Kirkcaldy Community Club Liza Dawber, Vulcan County Missing: Bill Lahd, Milo Community Representative cultural, economic and even intangible aspects of our shared experiences through history. In the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada, Heritage Value is defined as “the aesthetic, historic, scientific, cultural, social, or spiritual importance for past, present or future generations.” It is important to consider that values are multivalent, and that a historic place can illustrate more than one value. The evolving view of heritage also recognizes emerging trends in urban and community planning and the need to integrate sustainability and energy efficiency into planning initiatives. This approach recognizes the importance of environmental, social/cultural and economic sustainability. Heritage conservation strongly supports all three pillars of sustainability. The Thematic Framework and Community Context Paper are important steps in Heritage Management Program for Vulcan County. The primary goal of this portion of the project is to identify major factors and processes that shaped the built environment of Vulcan County to the present day. This document contains a county-wide Thematic Framework and Community Context Paper, which were developed through community-guided research. The Thematic Framework is a chart that outlines the major themes of development that has lead to the breadth of historic resources visible in Vulcan County today. Each theme is represented by examples of local heritage sites and places of interest. The Thematic Framework is based on the Parks Canada Systems Plan and the Provincial Alberta Thematic Framework (In Time and Place), which identify the major themes that influenced the history and heritage of Canada and Alberta. The Parks Canada Systems Plan is used as an overarching guide; each national theme is then broken down to the provincial level, then the local level and is modified or added to in order to suit the local context. A Community Context Paper expands on each of the themes in the Thematic Framework. The final document helps to define a sense of identity and ownership of Vulcan County’s heritage resources 3 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 Parks Canada System Plan 4 thematic framework D e v elopme nt of th e Th em atic Fr a me wor k To the left is the Parks Canada System Plan diagram, which outlines Canada’s historical themes. This process involved drilling down from the national themes through the provincial themes in Alberta’s 2005 Thematic Framework, In Time and Place, and down to the local level in Vulcan County. Historic sites in the communities of Vulcan County will likely fit into several of the themes but may be best represented by one particular category or sub-theme. This framework will enable communities within Vulcan County to articulate its unique heritage values and identify historic resources based on these values. The diagram below represents the adaptation of the Parks Canada System Plan to the Vulcan County Thematic Framework. VULCAN COUNTY COMMUNITY CONTEXT PAPER HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY THEMATIC FRAMEwORk THEME 1: PEOPLING THE LAND • First Nations in Vulcan County • Settling the Dryland Prairies THEME 5: EXPRESSING INTELLECTUAL & CULTURAL LIFE • Sports & Recreation • Imported Architecture & Local Trades • Connection to the Stars THEME 4: GOVERNING CANADA • Law & Protection THEME 2: DEVELOPING ECONOMIES • Ranching & Farming in Vulcan County • Natural Resource Development • Prairie Ingenuity: Technology & Engineering • Connection to Communities THEME 3: BUILDING SOCIAL & COMMUNITY LIFE • Health & Welfare • Network of Education • Community, Spiritiality & the Cultural Landscape in Vulcan County 5 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 VULCAN COUNTY THEMATIC FR AMEWORK Metathemes: Interconnectedness, Ingenuity 6 Canadian Theme Canadian Sub-Theme Alber ta Theme(s) Vulcan County Theme Notes Examples Peopling the Land Canada’s Earliest Inhabitants - Prehistoric Alberta - Aboriginal Life First Nations in Vulcan County This theme articulates the ancient and continuing First Nation’s presence in Vulcan County. • Cultural landscapes • Archaeological sites • Carmangay Tipi Rings • Medicine Wheels Peopling the Land Settlement Migration and Immigration - Agricultural Development - Aboriginal Life - Urban Development - Business & Industry Settling the Dr yland Prairies This theme articulates the pioneering spirit and impact made on the Vulcan County area through the waves of local and immigrant settlements throughout the area. •Houses associated with early settlement •Anastasia Barn, Anastasia •Early hotels •King’s Residence, Vulcan •Local cemeteries Developing Economies Extraction & Production - Resource Development Ranching & Farming in Vulcan County The theme explores the rich agricultural roots that thrived and economies and town development that spurred as a result. •Grain elevators •Crop production facilities •Farmsteads •Ranches •Elevator Row, Mossleigh •CPR Farms Developing Economies Extraction & Production - Resource Development Natural Resource Development This theme articulates the development of a rich variety of natural resource industries such as oil, gas, electrical power, and coal in Vulcan County and the settlements that developed as a result. •Coal towns and mines •Gas plants •Oil wells •Buildings associated with natural resource development •Gas and service stations Developing Economies Technology & Engineering - Transportation Prairie Ingenuity: Technology and Engineering This theme articulates how local communities transformed the harsh environment of the Prairies through ingenuity technology and engineering achievements. •Dams •Irrigation systems •Carmangay Rail Trestle •Early roads and trails •Railway trestles / bridges •Rail stations •Fireguard Road, Champion Rural •Dr y Ditch, Rural SE Developing Economies Communications & Transportation - Communication Connection to Communities The theme articulates the important role of communication to connect communities within Vulcan County •Telegraph Office, Milo •Post Offices •Newspaper buildings •Hearnleigh Post Office, Rural NW •Advocate Building, Vulcan •Museum and archives •Local history books Building Social and Community Life Education and Social Well-Being - Health - Education - Intellectual Life Health & Welfare This theme articulates activities and processes associated with the provision of health, welfare and government services. • Hospital buildings • Doctors offices and residences • Nurse accommodation • Nurses Residence, Vulcan thematic framework Building Social and Community Life Education and Social Well-Being - Education - Intellectual Life Network of Education This theme articulates the network of schools, both rural and urban that were a core component of every community in Vulcan County. •Early schools •Rural schools •Plaque program to commemorate schools •Liber ty School, Rural NW Building Social & Community Life Community Organizations - Work and Leisure - Sports Community, Spirituality and the Cultural Landscape in Vulcan County This theme articulates the interconnectedness of spirituality, community and its relation to power of place in Vulcan County (“special places”). •Community halls •Local Cemeteries •Churches •Legions •Medicine Wheels •Churches converted to halls •Schools converted to churches •Buffalo Hills •School / Hall Kirkcaldy •Queenstown Hall, Queenstown Governing Canada Security and the Law - Politics and Government Law & Protection This theme articulates the NWMP presence in Vulcan County early in its development and processes and sites involved in law & protection. •NWMP buildings •Carmangay Volunteer Fire Brigade Building Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life Sports & Leisure - Sports & Leisure Spor ts & Recreation This theme articulates the activities associated with events and recreation in Vulcan County. •Rodeo grounds •Chuckwagons •Agricultural Fairs •Vulcan Baseball field •Milo Race Track Expressing Intellectual & Cultural Life Architecture & Design Architecture & Design Impor ted Architecture & Local Trades This theme articulates the important introduction of plan book architecture in the Prairies to meet both the immediate needs during boom times and because of the lack of building materials. Local trades specialized in certain building types such as barns or commercial buildings are evident throughout Vulcan County. •Plan book houses, railway stations, schools, community halls, barn •CPR Farms •Bank of Hamilton buildings •Cemeteries Expressing Intellectual & Cultural Life Philosophy and Spirituality The Face of Alberta Connection to the Stars This theme articulates the people, institutions and cultural spaces inspired by Vulcan County’s geography and limitless sightlines. •RCAF Station, Vulcan Rural •Vulcan Tourism building •Sites associated with Star Trek •Medicine Wheels 7 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY Fr om t op lef t , c l o c k w i s e : Res idenc e i n B r a n t M ec hanic al s hop at t he G ues s R a n c h Bar n at 222012 Twp. R d . 1 3 2 8 HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 context paper O v er r e achi ng th eme s Named for the Roman god of fire and the forge, Vulcan was rumoured to have been christened for the Olympian God by a surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1910 . Consisting of the Town of Vulcan, the five Villages of Carmangay, Champion, Lomond, Milo and Arrowwood as well as eight Hamlets: Brant, Ensign, Herronton, Kirkcaldy, Mossleigh, Queenstown, Shouldice, and Travers, Vulcan County is known for its abundant dryland prairie farming, an industry well suited to the climate of this region. On December 27, 1950, Vulcan County No. 2 became the first county formed in Alberta. Throughout the development of Vulcan County, amongst the different cultures that explored, settled, and worked in the Canadian Badlands, two pervasive themes emerged on a continuous basis. These meta-themes permeated the development of Vulcan County from its early habitation by First Nation groups, to the present day. These metathemes include: Interconnectedness and Ingenuity. They serve as overarching themes in each of the 13 themes present in Vulcan County. From top: Commercial building in Carmangay Brunswick School/Prospect Slope School: Now part of the Historical S o c i e t y, A r c h i v e s & M u s e u m i n Vu l c a n F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 9 VULCAN COUNTY f irst nations i n v ulca n cou nty The area that would eventually become Vulcan County has a long and rich history stretching back more than 10,000 years. Vulcan County is situated in the ice free corridor, a barren ice-free area located on the east side of the Rocky Mountains foothills. The corridor, situated between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets, stretched from Alaska to Northern Montana and provided early Paleo-Indian cultures an ice-free route during Late Pleistocene to early Holocene migrations across Beringia from Siberia over 11,000 years ago. Some of Canada’s earliest archaeological site were located along this corridor, including one close to Vulcan County in Wally’s Beach, close to Lethbridge (dating to 11,339 BP). At the time of European contact, Vulcan County was the located in the territory of the nomadic Blackfoot peoples. The sparsely populated area provided a successful economy for these people provided they travelled with the bison, their primary source of food, clothing, household items and housing. Animal remains (bone, sinew, skin) were utilized for tools, as were stone and ceramics. The dog was the only pack animal used by the Albert First Nations prior to 1650 when the horse was first introduced. The Blackfoot spent most of their time in small, travelling family groups, but would congregate for large bison drives and ceremonial purposes. No large village sites will be found to represent these people in the past, but many tipi ring sites have been recorded as well as numerous medicine wheels. One of these “medicine wheels” (possibly the most complicated in Canada) is located in Vulcan County – east of Majorville. It is known as the “Majorville Cairn” or “Majorville Wheel”. Over the past four decades, Gordon Freeman has researched the Cairn with an eye to it being a complicated calendar and celestial guide comparable to Stonehenge and other such temples around the world. Milo also has tipi rings west of the community. 10 HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 Notable in the early contact years was a visit from famed missionary Father Lacombe, who was summoned to the region to assist the Blackfoot during an outbreak of scarlet fever in 1857. For many of the First Nations people, Lacombe was the first white person they had seen and one of the first who seemed trustworthy. In 1877, Treaty 7, a treaty between the Canadian Government (for Queen Victoria) and primarily Blackfoot Indians in Southern Alberta, was signed at Blackfoot Crossing – just north of the county border. Treaty 7 was the last of a series of treaties designed to pass control of Rupert’s Land over to the Crown. The treaty ceded traditional territory to the government and established reserves as well as yearly monetary compensation to the Indians (the term “Indian” is used here as this is what they were referred to at the time. “First Nations” is the more appropriate modern term, but was not in use at this time.) This treaty basically made it “safe” for ranchers and settlers to come live and work in the area. M a j o r v i l l e C a i r n , 1960 (Glenbow A r ch i ve s C 1 5 1 - 5 ) context paper s e ttli ng th e DRYL A ND PR A IRIE S Waves of settlement following periods of prosperity and opportunity altered the landscape of Vulcan County through time. Like many communities in the Canadian prairies, the earliest settlement was populated by families and friends from the same areas. In the case of Vulcan County, the first settlers were mainly from the United States and eastern Canada. By the 1920s, a large British population had settled in the area, many of whom arrived with generations of farming experience under their belt. Other settlers beginning in the 1920s began to immigrate including those from Scandinavian countries, German, Dutch, Chinese, French, and Russian communities. Families who first settled in the area were usually experienced farmers, merchants and tradesmen. The first non-native settlement into the Vulcan County area occurred in 1859 when the Palliser Expedition came through the region in their exploration toward the Rocky Mountains. With Palliser having divided the party in two at the mouth of the Bow River, the portion of the party under Dr. James Hector moved across the Oldman River and proceeded northwest toward the confluence of the Bow and Highwood Rivers. That would have meant that Hector and his party passed through the Vulcan Region on their journey northbound. When settlement did come, the Vulcan region followed the general trends in the Canadian west, with the region being settled in an orderly and systematic way. Drawing most of its new immigrants from other areas of Canada, the United States and Northern European nations, the area saw its major influx of new settlers between 1904 and 1921. The earliest settlement in the area occurred near Milo (Hearnleigh and Berrywater), with settlement beginning in the early 1900s. Promoted heavily by the agents of the Canadian Pacific Railway and Canadian government, the Vulcan area became a destination for groups of people from regions across North America and Europe. However, studies have shown that most came to Vulcan not due to the promotion and pamphlets, but due to the recommendation of friends and relatives already present in the area or on their way there. This often meant that new arrivals found a pre-existing social network transposed from the source of their migration, with family and friends having come to Vulcan together. The latter was often decried in the local papers as early as 1906 and as late as 1918, with one paper stating, “Property continues to change hands like hot cakes.” Land speculation flies in the face of the outward view of Vulcan County as a sleepy frontier, with only industrious and conservative settlers. Instead Vulcan and area was a dynamic and sometimes unscrupulous place where land prices and opportunities could change dramatically within very short frames of time. This dynamism often meant that while many migrants came to the region, only a portion stayed through the period through the First World War and into the 1920s. Trends show that population levels in Vulcan County were already falling prior to the Great Depression, the latter only speeding up trends of depopulation in the region. However, despite the challenges of a frontier existence and the land speculation that came with it, by 1913, on the eve of the First World War, many banked that the future for Vulcan County looked bright indeed. That optimism was misguided though as boom that had characterized the settlement period collapsed in 1913 and many speculators, merchants and settlers became disillusioned with the region’s prospects. The result was that many of the town lots in the region, sections of land and their related infrastructure components 11 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 (such as roads and services) remained critically underdeveloped at the outbreak of war. With the successful conclusion of the First World War, Vulcan moved into the 1920s with bright expectations. However, manpower shortages and land speculation continued to be problematic for the region for many years following the war. In addition, overextension and speculation in the boom years, meant that many of the towns in the Vulcan region needed to deal with a plague of absentee land owners and tax evaders during the years leading up to the crash in 1929. In fact, in 1925 the town of Carmangay needed to seize as many as 2/3 of the lots in their town for non-payment of taxes. Southside of Vulcan Street in Vulcan . 1910’s (Glenbow Archives NA-748-13) 12 context paper R a nchi ng a nd fa r mi ng i n v ulca n cou nty Ranching and later agriculture was and continue to be Vulcan County’s key defining characteristic and led to the development of many thriving communities and a source of local pride throughout the county beginning in the 1910s. Ranching was the first activity to occur in the area – as early as the late 1880s. Ranching was conducted for nearly 20 years before settlers started to move into the country in any number. The transition from ranching to agriculture was somewhat of a misstep and changed the landscape of the area in 1882. The Vulcan region was surveyed using the grid system commonly used in British colonies and continuing the process started in 1879 for the area covered by the current Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. While this prepared the area for later waves of settlement, it also began a process that would eventually cause the demise of the open range used by ranchers from the region and beyond. Ranching was a vital industry in Southern Alberta in the late 1870s and afterward, with the large expanses of grass in the northern plains serving as a great open range for American and Canadian ranchers. Although some land in the region was opened for farming before 1900, these farms were limited in number and took second place to ranching until after the turn-of-the century. One exception to this trend in the Vulcan area was the grazing lease claim made by the McHugh brothers. They claimed 100,000 acres of land between the Blackfoot Reserve southward to the Oldman River. Their claim was short-lived, however, and the Canadian Government reclaimed most of the land within a few years returning it to open range. Although it was short-lived, the McHugh claim was the first by a white settler in the Vulcan region and would set the stage for the influx of settlers in the years following 1900. By 1904 the trend of farming and fencing began although ranching was still dominant in the region until the next decade. With local government established in the Vulcan region with the organization of Municipal District No. 29 in 1906, however, the trend toward settlement and farming as the central activity in the district was irreversible. However, along with the new farmers trying their hand at dry land cereal farming (which became the main activity of the region) many came with their skills, trades and training to build the region and make their fortune. Many also came and turned to less respectable ways to make their fortune, including gambling, crop speculation and, in particular, land speculation (the latter, despite government deterrence). With the outbreak of war in 1914, many of the young men of Vulcan answered the empire’s call to fight in the Fields of Flanders. As with many areas of English-speaking Canada, Vulcan’s first contingents were filled by first and second generation immigrants from the British Isles. However, large numbers of Vulcan residents who originated from the United States also answered the call to fight in Europe, even though the American government would not join the conflict until 1917. The war years in the Vulcan region brought a great deal of patriotic fervor to the area. However, while war demand brought high prices for grain, it also brought a great money stress to farmers due to manpower shortages. With the departure of many men to the fighting fields in Europe, the average labour cost in the years 1914-1918 in Vulcan rose from approximately $200 per farm per year to $650 per farm. Although many farmers saw a windfall of profit, they ended up often spending a great deal of it just to hire enough people to get their crops off the field and to market. Many of the farms in rural Vulcan County present on the landscape today were built during this war time boom. 13 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY Despite the challenges that the Vulcan region faced, farming output in the 1920s continued to deliver the yields that had made the area known for its production of wheat. It was at this time that the Vulcan’s famous ‘nine-in-a-line’ elevators became an advertised source of pride for the region and its residents. The capacity of the nine elevators at 750,000 bushels became a publicity tool for area boosters advertised far and wide. With the financial crash in 1929, Vulcan, like most areas of North America felt the effect quickly and deeply. Residents moved away from the region, fleeing dying farms, unpaid taxes and depopulating the Vulcan area - exacerbating the trend already seen in the mid-1920s. The Great Depression also saw a drop in population due to the use of technology on farms throughout the region. Farmers who now had more access to threshing machines, tractors and combine harvesters needed fewer hands to work the land still under cultivation. By the mid-1930s far less regular and itinerant farm workers were seen in the Vulcan region, instead finding their place in the great migration of people abandoning the lack of opportunity in rural for the promise of urban settings. The Depression hit all Alberta towns hard, and the “Dust Bowl” was certainly in effect here. People were poor and agriculture was difficult during this time. Little development occurred in these communities in the 1930s or 1940s. In 1971 a large fire robbed Vulcan of one of its ‘nine-in-a-line’ grain elevators. At one time, the Town of Vulcan held claim as having the largest shipping point and grain storage capacity in the British Empire and was a high source of pride for the community. While eight of the elevators survived the blaze, the changing dynamics of the 14 HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 grain industry meant that the elevators that did survive were eliminated over the years. While the region still produces a large amount of grain, the nine sentinels that had served as Vulcan’s iconic image were gone. In fact only one elevator remains today in Vulcan, it having been built in the 1980s. Champion, known as the “Million Bushel Town”, was also a big grain producer in the area in the 1920s, as was Queenstown. context paper Looking west across the fields in winter. The Beingessner Barn is seen in the distance 15 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY n HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 atur a l r e source de v elopme nt Vulcan County had small coal deposits throughout the area as well as small natural gas wells that encouraged settlement in the area. This was expounded by the coming of the railway in 191112 via the Kipp-Aldersyde line through Calgary south into Vulcan County. The natural resources in the Vulcan County area attracted newcomers to the area and the coal was used as a source of inexpensive fuel for settlers in the area. Some was also sold to surrounding communities of Barons, Vulcan, High River Blackie and Nanton. The communities of Carmangay, Milo, Champion and Bow City (original townsite just outside of the county) were originally developed with coal mining as the primary driver. These early settlements predated the railway and many of these communities, including Milo, Champion and Carmangay were moved with the depletion of coal and coming of the rail in the 1910s (1920s for Milo). Champion had the largest amount of these mines developed between 1907 and 1965 . The area, known as the Champion Coal Fields, was centred on the banks of the Wolf Coulee (near Carmangay). Natural gas is a large and growing industry in Vulcan County, started in earnest after the Second World War. Its early development brought some settlement into the area. Road development outside of the major communities paralleled this later oil and gas development. Wind, solar and geophysical drilling have become burgeoning new industries in the last 10 years in the county. From coal to wind. Natural resource development continues in Vulcan County Top: Glenbow Archives PA-2346 - 40 Bottom: Magrath Wind Farm, south of Vulcan County. Photo by Chuck Szmurlo 16 context paper P R A IRIE I NGE NUITY: TECH NOLOGY A ND E NGI NEERI NG With its situation in the dryland prairies of the Canadian Badlands, Vulcan County has adapted to its harsh, open conditions with unfaltering finesse and ingenuity. With its natural resources highly susceptible to inclement weather and climate change, whole communities in Vulcan County have been picked up and moved to new locations on more than one occasion. Towns relocated when railway arrived – Carmangay relocated further east, Milo moved to current location in 1924. Irrigation was also a critical element of prairie ingenuity in Vulcan County beginning in the early 1900s, with the transformation of over 154,000 hectares in Snake Valley into the massive McGregor Lake Reservoir from 1909 to 1912. The project, headed up by the Southern Alberta Land Company, was a key project that transformed the environment forever, spurred development in the area and as well provided both labour and water for farms for many years. Several damming and canal projects in the Milo and Lomond area occurred up to the end of the second world war. The Travers Reservoir project, to the south of the McGregor Lake Reservoir, was initiated in 1954. The railway was also an important technological advance that forever shifted the cultural landscape in Vulcan County. The CPR was late in its development into Vulcan County, commencing construction in 1909 of a line built from Aldersyde, south of Calgary to Kipp, Alberta (Kipp-Aldersyde line). A large 320-meter wooden trestle bridge was constructed that spanned the Little Bow River Valley. This railway spurred a massive flow of labourers and settlement in the communities surrounding the railways. Many of the resources visible in the Town of Vulcan, the villages and the hamlets located along this rail line were built during this initial thrust of development in the early 1910s. A later railine built in increments beginning in 1916, linked east from Mazeppa, through to Lomond. The line was built near Milo in 1924, encouraging the community to move their entire town in 1924-25 to be in proximity to the rail line. In recent times, their has been improvements in the highway system through the county and the installation of cell phone towers to improve communication. Firegaurd Road (Township Road 150) 17 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY c on nection to commu nitie s Communication in Vulcan County has been a critical lifeline for settlers in the early development of the area. Prairie life was generally lonely and cut off due to long days tending to crops and wide distances between properties. Communication was of utmost importance and post offices, telegraph offices and newspapers were established early in Vulcan County’s history, with the first post offices set up in rural homes in the more rural areas such as Hearnleigh and Loma in the early 1900s. In the 1970s, small post offices were closed and mail distribution was centralized from the Vulcan Post Office. The coming of rail brought with it more centralized communication. Between 1907 and the outbreak of the First World War, progress and development in the Vulcan region helped push access, 18 HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 communication and transportation to higher levels. This development resulted in a spike in settlement and population in the area that rose dramatically until 1911 and would not see a peak until the 1920s. Some of the improvements of this “boom” time in Vulcan County in the late 1910s included: the establishment of the Brant to Nanton telephone line in 1907; the arrival of the first automobile in 1909 (and subsequent improvement in local roads); and the construction of the Kipp-Aldersyde line by the CPR through Vulcan County to Aldersyde in 1910. The internal communication in the region and beyond also improved with the establishment of the first newspaper in the area, the Carmangay Sun in 1910, followed soon after by the Vulcan Review (1912-13), the Vulcan Advocate in 1913 and the Champion Chronicle (1920). Vulcan CPR Station. Unknown date. (Prairie Postcards. Peel’s Prairie Provinces PC004937) context paper h e a lth a nd w elfa r e As the population of Vulcan County continued to grow, so too did the need for health and care facilities. During the early years of settlement, hospitals and doctors were a rarity and care facilities were established in makeshift spaces, particularly during times of crisis. The Harvard School, for example, one mile south of Cleverville, was converted to a hospital during the 1918 flu epidemic. Many doctors and nurses that practiced in the area, served several community roles such as doctors, teachers, nurses, preachers and farmers. The earliest known prairie doctor was Dr. George Adams Shamberger, who lived in the Brant area before 1900. Many of the schools in the area Little Bow Municipal Hospital, Carmangay, 1960 (Glenbow Archives NA-5327-382) also had regular visits by doctors and nurses in the spring and fall each year. The central hospital for Vulcan County was in the Town of Vulcan, opened in 1917, as a four room cottage. A permanent brick hospital and associated nurses residence was established in 1928 to serve the growing needs of the community. Carmangay had a large regional hospital as well. Smaller communities are served by walk-in clinics such as the one below in Milo. Snake Valley Drop-In (Seniors) Centre in Milo 19 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY N HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 e twor k of Education A network of educational facilities was established early in Vulcan County, to serve the small settlement scattered throughout the region. Schools and churches were especially impacted by the small population and its generally sparse distribution throughout Vulcan County. Both schools and churches learned quickly to centralize and consolidate in order to make things work out. The impact on where both were located and how they were structured was significant. Beginning in 1905, schools were built in the community every four to five miles, providing educational needs for children in rural areas throughout the county. School districts were numbered according to a provincial numbering system. The lower the number, the earlier the school in the area. Vulcan County, had at one time, 123 school districts, six of which did not ever receive a school. There is currently 35 schools still standing in Vulcan County (as of 2010) and several, such as the Liberty School close to Milo, are in their original location. In 1950, new provincial legislation allowed Municipal Districts, school divisions or districts to unite into individual counties and several original one-room school houses were abandoned or demolished. Several have been re-used as community halls, churches or private residences. School in Vulcan (Glenbow Archives NA-5666 -93) 20 context paper C OMMU NITY, SPIRITUA LITY A ND TH E CULTUR A L L A NDSCA PE I N V ULCA N COU NTY Vulcan County is situated on a stunning open due to agricultural development. Sacred buildings prairie, with views of the Rocky Mountains and in Vulcan County tend to be connected to special rolling hills beyond. Since time immemorial, the places. These buildings remain in a community, area has been used for sacred activities inspired tied to the landscape and are converted to meet by the vast open space and connection to the land. the needs. The Kirkcaldy School/Hall for example, Medicine wheels, created on the landscape by First south of the Town of Vulcan was built originally Nation communities are an important early marker as a church in 1920, was converted to a church of a sacred connection to the landscape. With the in 1925 and was later shifted to a hall in 1953. later settlement of Vulcan County, this connection Communities in Vulcan County are tied to cultural to the land has perpetuated through an innate landscapes such as Snake Valley, Buffalo Hills connection to the natural environment and climate and Thigh Hill and Black Spring Ridge. There are several intact historic churches in Vulcan County that serve the vast variety of denominations in the county. Social organizations such as the Vulcan Ladies Community Society, Ladies Aid, the Women’s Institute as well as fraternal and Masonic organizations constructed halls and buildings to hold their meetings. Many of the areas’ large quantity of original community halls provide space for these community associations, such as the Queenstown Hall in the Hamlet of Queenstown, built in 1918. Mossleigh Church, formerly Sunset Valley School 21 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY L HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 aw & Protection Due to Vulcan County’s positioning close to the US border, law and protection has played an important role in its early development, leading to many buildings and facilities still intact today. In 1873, the Northwest Mounted Police were dispatched to the territory to deal with the whiskey trade in the far west and to strengthen Canadian sovereignty over the region in face of growing American expansion south of the border. Working from nearby Forts Macleod and Calgary, Mounties travelled through and around Vulcan County in the regular duties of enforcing the law in territory. One of the area’s first N.W.M.P post was at Reid Hill in the northeast. One of the area’s first jails was built in Carmangay in 1910, and was built to control the influx of labourers from outside of the community to build the railway. The one-room jail remains intact in the town. Carmangay also had the area’s first fire protection services with establishment of the Volunteer Fire Brigade building on Grand Avenue. The building was erected in one day on September 27, 1912 and remains today as an important symbol of the village’s early fire protection services. Historical birds eye view of Carmangay. The Fire Brigade Building with its distinctive roof can be seen on the right. n.d. (Unknown source) 22 context paper S ports & R ecr e ation Community life in Vulcan County was an important outlet for those who settled and continue to live in the area. Activities such as fishing, horse racing, stampede, baseball, as well as arts and cultural endeavours were intertwined in all of the communities within Vulcan County. Every community had its own baseball league and the rivalries were legendary. The Town of Vulcan had a baseball team for some time called the Vulcan Elks and baseball fields are a key social and symbolic centre of the community. The area also has excellent access to recreational and camping grounds such as Little Bow Provincial Park, McGregor Lake Reservoir, Travers Reservoir and Badger Lake Reservoir. Vulcan Elks baseball teams from 1955 (attheplate.com) 23 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY I M PORTED A RCHITECTUR E & LOCA L TR A DE S Vulcan County has a unique architectural signature marked by historic buildings constructed using locally available pattern book plans. Due to the lack of trees in the area, lumber was rare. Prior to the railway coming into the area in the 1910s, buildings were either moved in from adjacent communities or were built using what locally resources were available, and re-used for many years. After the railway was complete and Vulcan County was experiencing its boom time in the 1910s and again during the First World War, there was an influx of imported pattern book designs. Examples of pattern book designs are visible in farm houses and buildings; CPR buildings such as train stations; local banks; schools; agricultural buildings; community halls and cemeteries. Often, materials and plans were shipped via rail and constructed on site using local trades. Thus there are distinct stylistic qualities to Vulcan County architecture dictated by local trades. This Vulcan County style in houses features the use of local materials, such as cobblestone, and stylistic elements such as cornice return cornerboards and narrow overhanging eaves with steep rooflines. In the commercial context, many historic buildings feature chamfered corner entryways, boom time façades and parapet walls. Many of the barns in Vulcan County, a source of pride for farming families, feature design elements such as unique windows and siding that can be traced to particular carpenters in the area. Peacock Train Station 24 HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 pilgrimage for many each year. context paper C on nection to th e Sta rs “Through Adversity to the Stars” Vulcan has had an early and well established connection to the stars. A CPR surveyor in 1910, named the town and the community after the Roman God of Fire and Forge. By the outbreak of the Second World War, Vulcan County’s fortunes had taken a turn for the worse. Like many areas of Canada, the war brought opportunity in the supplying of those fighting on the front lines. In Vulcan, the war effort came to their door as well with the establishment of a training facility for the British Commonwealth Air Training Program (BCATP). Opened to the southwest of the town of Vulcan, RCAF Station Vulcan was opened on October 30, 1942 and played host to pilots from throughout the British Commonwealth as No. 2 Flight Instructors School. From 1942-1943 the station trained fighter aircraft crews and from 1943-1945 training focused on training bomber crews. Closed on April 14, 1945 the facilities were then repurposed as the Vulcan Industrial Airport and later as a private airstrip. The hangars of the original installation still stand on the site today with a commemorative monument to the south of the original site. Vulcan Tourism Building In 1993, Vulcan seized upon a popular culture coincidence, in that the TV and Movie Series Star Trek had named the home planet of one of their most iconic characters, Mr. Spock, Vulcan. VulCON: Spock Days/Galaxyfest Convention, an annual event, was founded to seize upon the devotion of the “Trekker” community and the tourism business it could generate. Theming many areas of the town with replicas of iconic spaceships, murals and displays of memorabilia, Vulcan has reinvented itself for this community. Owing to this dedication, the VulCON is well known among the fandom for Star Trek and becomes a point of 25 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY 26 HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 vulcan county inv ento r y s i t e s & donald luxton Associatesinc. C O U N T Y F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 27 Municipal Heritage Partnership Program VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 ANASTASIA BARN features a large flared gambrel roof, a hay hood, multiple wood-frame multi-pane windows, and two roof cupolas. There is a smaller barn to the southeast of the main barn which is distinguished by its gambrel roofline that encompasses the entire building, exposed rafter tails and horizontal siding. The barn site is located west of Range Road 225 between Township Roads 204 and 205, at the northern boundary of Vulcan County. Heritage Value of Historic Place 1927 LOCATION Anastasia ADDRESS LEGAL ATS SE;30;20;22;W4 HS# 104439 Statement of Integrity Anastasia Barn is in fairly good condition for a barn of its age. The barn is set on a concrete pad, providing stability and support for the superstructure of the building. The wood siding is missing and damaged in many locations requiring repair and replacement in kind and painting. The wood shingle roof is beyond its serviceable life and requires replacement. Wooden sash windows, while the majority are intact, have missing or damaged glazing requiring repair. Doors are missing on the shed roof extension on the west side of the building. Description of Historic Place The Anastasia Barn site consists of a large historic barn located in the former Doukhobor community of Anastasia, Alberta. The barn is a large rectangular two-storey wood frame building situated on a north-south axis with a single storey shed roof extension on the west wall of the building. Its exterior walls are clad in painted horizontal boards and the building The Anastasia Barns site is significant for its association with early settlement patterns in Vulcan County and the establishment of the Doukhobor colony of Anastasia, officially known as the “Lordly Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood.” Anastasia was formed in 1926 by leader, Anastasia Holoboff, the former long-time companion of Peter V. “Lordly” Verigin, leader of the Christian Community of Universal Brotherhood (CCUB). Together, Verigin and Holoboff had overseen the Alberta chapter of the CCUB colony, originally located southwest of what would become Anastasia, since its creation in 1915. The Alberta colony had been a successful operation until 1924, when Verigin died unexpectedly in a train explosion. Upon the death of her partner, Anastasia Holoboff announced her intention to take over as official leader of the community, but was trounced in favour of Verigin’s son who was brought over from Russia. In 1926, Anastasia broke away from the original colony to form her own community, purchasing 1,120 acres of land 150 kilometers northeast of Verigin’s colony. She convinced 160 people to follow her and personally supervised the construction of the first homes. The Anastasia Doukhobor community sustained themselves primarily on agricultural pursuits and the construction of the large Anastasia Barn was one of the first and most important steps in establishing the new settlement. 28 anastasia b arn In 1927, the Barn was constructed at the north end of the village and was used by the colony as the community barn. It concurrently acted as a dairy barn, a storage space for dairy products and equipment, a space for housing the workhorses and farming equipment, and a hayloft, which was constructed on the second floor of the barn and used for storing the hay and feed through the winter months. The barn served the Anastasia Doukhobor community from its construction in 1927 until the end of the Second World War, when the community broke apart. The community of Anastasia never officially ceased to exist, but it gradually declined in population until, by 1945, only Anastasia herself and her companion, Fedosia Verigin, remained. The Anastasia Barn remains today as a testament to the Anastasia Doukhobor community, which at one time contained twenty-six individual houses, a blacksmith shop, a cemetery, and a population of 165 people. spaced cupolas on the roof and hayhood on north elevation; • fenestration including multipaned wooden sash windows, spaced evenly on the broad sides of the barn and symmetrically located on the short elevations; diamond wooden sash window at gambrel peaks; sliding barn doors at north and south elevations; and • interior layout including demarked space for dairy and farm storage at main floor and hayloft storage at upper storey. The Anastasia Barn is additionally significant for its traditional vernacular architecture built by local labour. The barn is a very good example of traditional rural Alberta barn construction, featuring the common gambrel roof structure, horizontal plank siding, and multiple windows on the broad sides of the building. The long rectangular plan and roof design reflect the technical improvements made in barn construction over the years, which eliminated the need for large, heavy timber beams taking up valuable space in the interior of the barn and hayloft. The Anastasia Barn is a good example of a well-proportioned, functional structure with simplified detailing. The barn is an efficient response to the conditions and availability of materials in the sparse, isolated, agricultural setting of Anastasia. Character-Defining Elements The key elements that define the heritage character of the Anastasia Barn site include its: • siting on its original location on the north side of the former Doukhobor community of Anastasia near to Range Road 225 and between Township Roads 204 and 205 in Vulcan County, Alberta; • agricultural form, scale and massing as expressed by its rectangular plan with flared front gambrel roof and clearspan braced-roof structural system; • wood-frame construction featuring wooden frame, horizontal wood plank siding and drop siding at gambrel peaks, and wood shingle roof; • vernacular rural architecture as evidenced by two evenly 29 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 GRANGE HOTEL building located on a prominent corner at Carman and Pacific Avenue in the Village of Carmangay. The large, U-shaped building has a flat roof, two main facades, a chamfered corner entryway, and painted ‘Grange Hotel’ sign. It is situated in the commercial heart of downtown Carmangay, set amongst other historic buildings. Heritage Value of Historic Place 1909 LOCATION Carmangay ADDRESS 102 Carman St. LEGAL 570X;3;10 ATS SW;32;13;23;W4 HS# 25885 ORIGINAL OWNER Peter McNaughton ARCHITECT Lawson & Fordyce CONTRACTORS Archie & Peter McIntyre Statement of Integrity The Grange Hotel is an historic wood-frame hotel that is in good condition for its age. A number of its original features are intact and maintenance of the building is fair. Some of the building’s original 8-over-1 doublehung wooden sash windows are intact and operable; however, on the main façade, the original windows have been replaced with vinyl windows. Overall, wooden siding is in fair condition. Paint on the wooden lapped siding is showing signs of deterioration. At the ground level, substantial portions of the vertical siding are missing. It is recommended that this siding be replaced in kind to prevent further damage. Original window openings at the first storey, as well as at the chamfered corner were filled in. As well, an original balcony at the second storey on the north side of the hotel was removed. Tin sheeting was added in the 1990’s. Description of Historic Place The Grange Hotel is a two-storey wooden The Grange Hotel signifies Carmangay’s role in the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and demonstrates the increased need for lodging during Carmangay’s principal period of growth during the early Edwardian era. At this time, Carmangay’s economy flourished as the prime stop while construction was occurring on the Canadian Pacific Railway line (CPR) extension from Kipp, Alberta to Carmangay in 1909. The construction of the CPR railway line which extended to Calgary, and the simultaneous construction of the Southern Alberta Irrigation Ditch built at Vauxhill between 1910 and 1913, necessitated hotels as such to house labourers moving to the area to take advantage of the industrial expansion occurring at the time. Constructed in 1909-11, the Grange Hotel was built in proximity to the CPR station and was often the first point of entry for resource workers and provided both short and long term accommodation. This hotel had a combined function of lodging rooms on the upper floors, and commercial services, such as bar, restaurant, and barbershop on the ground floor, which contributed to the street life and economy in Carmangay. The Grange Hotel is additionally significant for its pivotal role in the community life as a social and commercial hub of Carmangay. The building was designed not only to meet the accommodation needs for visitors but also functioned as the epicenter for social activities in the community. Around 1924, the hotel also functioned as the town’s post 30 Grange Hotel office and telephone office, demonstrating its importance as a central hub. The first owner was Peter McNaughton and his wife Mame, who owned the hotel until 1912. The Grange Hotel is additionally significant as an intact example of Edwardian vernacular commercial architecture. The hotel was designed by Calgary-based architect, Lawson and Fordyce in 1909 which consisted of partners Francis James Lawson (1860-1952) and George Fordyce (18801944). The hotel design expresses a rational and elegant U-shaped plan accented with stepped parapet, wood cornice and chamfered corner entryway. Local contractors, Archie and Peter McIntyre were responsible for the construction of this vernacular boom time hotel. Character-Defining Elements Key elements that define the heritage character of the Grange Hotel include its: • location at the corner of Carman and Prairie Avenue, with main facades on two streets in downtown Carmangay; • commercial form, scale and massing as expressed by its: two-storey height, U-shaped plan with chamfered corner entryway and flat roof; • wood-frame construction with wooden lapped siding and corner boards; • vernacular commercial Edwardian architectural detailing such as parapet wall, wooden cornice; • original fenestration such as 8-over-1 single-hung wooden sash windows; original wood paneled door with multi-light sashes on upper elevation; and • additional details such as the painted ‘Grange Hotel’ signage on two elevations; interior red brick chimney. Vi e w o f C a r m a n g a y, 1 9 11 . G r a n g e Hotel centre-right (Postcards From the Past. Community Heritage & F a m i l y H i s t o r y D i g i t a l L i b r a r y. Calgary Public Library PC_483) 31 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 VOLUNTEER FIRE BRIGADE BUILDING resource is a small, one-storey wood-framed structure with a front gabled roofline. The front of the building features a small square projection with an exaggerated pyramidal tower on a hipped roofline. The front tower has double wood-panelled sliding doors, exposed rafters and a painted Fire Hall sign on the south elevation of the building. The addition at the rear was added in 1920. Heritage Value of Historic Place 1912 LOCATION Carmangay ADDRESS LEGAL 570X;9;4 ATS SW;32;13;23;W4 HS# 19104 Statement of Integrity The Volunteer Fire Brigade in Carmangay is an important heritage resource that is intact and in reasonable condition. The building’s original form, scale and massing, which are integral to the functionality of the building, have been retained. Original wooden drop siding is showing some signs of deterioration with paint chipping. The wooden tower is starting to show signs of deterioration with missing pieces of wooden siding; it is recommended that wooden siding on the tower be replaced in kind at the earliest opportunity. The tower also suffers from deterioration as a result of guano. The installation of bat deterrents would help to alleviate this issue. A number of wooden shingles are also missing from the roof; it is recommended that these be replaced in order to preserve the structure. Description of Historic Place The Volunteer Fire Brigade is located at the corner of Carman Street and Grand Avenue in the Village of Carmangay. This historic The Volunteer Fire Brigade is of historic significance for its association with fire rescue in the Village of Carmangay and Vulcan County and is a testament to its role in protective services during the early development of the community. During the Edwardian era, as Carmangay experienced explosive growth due to the construction of the extension of the Aldersyde-Kipp CPR railway line to Carmangay in 190911, population increased, as did the number of wood-frame buildings posing the risk of fire. With the installation of water services, a volunteer fire brigade was established and this building was constructed by 23 volunteers in a single day on Friday September 27, 1912. Initially, fire equipment was basic and consisted of twowheeled carts with reels of hoses. A team of four men pulled the carts with a fifth man operating the hydrant and connecting the hose. Volunteer residents formed the basis of the brigade, demonstrating their commitment to the community’s safety. The first fire chief was D.O. McKay. The Volunteer Fire Brigade has additional value as an example of utilitarian vernacular architecture, designed to suit its role in fire rescue. The pyramidal tower, which measures 9 metres in height, not only provided fire wardens with maximum visibility in all directions, but also provided a space to dry hosetops. A bell situated at the top of the tower would have provided emergency warning to residents. Large wooden-paneled sliding doors provide 32 V olunteer Fire Briga de Building wide access to the structure, which was necessary for the two-wheeled carts that were utilized before a fire truck was purchased in 1928. The rear addition was built sometime in the 1920’s. Character-Defining Elements Key elements that define the heritage character of the Volunteer Fire Brigade include its: • location on the east side of Grand Avenue at Carman Street in close proximity to both the commercial and residential areas in Carmangay; • minimal set back from the street; • form, scale and massing as expressed by its one-storey height with front-gabled rectangular plan; and a front projecting block with a hipped roof and topped with a large pyramidal tower; • wood-frame construction with wooden drop siding, corner boards, cedar shingled roof and exposed rafters; • fenestration including double wood-panelled sliding doors with original metal hardware and metal strap work above; original wooden frame transom windows; and • additional features such as painted fire hall sign. 33 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 MILLER RESIDENCE with gabled wall dormers, wide overhangs, half-timbering at the gable peaks, and extensive cobble-stone cladding on the first storey. The Miller farm site includes a front-gambrelled barn with diamond paned windows as the peak and sliding double doors. Heritage Value of Historic Place House 1916-17 Barn 1918 LOCATION Carmangay Rural ADDRESS 140003 Rge. Rd. 234 LEGAL ATS SW;4;14;23;W4 HS# 48046 ORIGINAL OWNERS Mr. & Mrs. W. H. Miller Statement of Integrity The Miller Residence is in good, near original condition. The stonework appears to be in good condition, with few episodes of cracking or spalling of cobblestones. The original 9-over-1 single hung windows have been replaced with aluminum sometime in the last 20 years. The gable peak has been re-stuccoed and the original cobblestones in the stucco covered. Balcony rails have been added to the balcony. There are areas of cracked parging at the watertable in various locations around the house. A flat roof addition has been added to the rear of the house but is subtle and sympathetic to the original design. Description of Historic Place The Miller Residence is a handsome one and one-half storey ornate cobble-stone residence situated on a farm site northeast of the Village of Carmangay. Situated amongst a rural landscape, the Miller Residence displays Arts and Crafts elements and is characterized by its front-gabled roof The Miller Residence, built 1916-1917, is valued for its unique architectural expression and is a notable example of local masonry construction in rural Carmangay. The use of locally-available cobble-stones demonstrates the ingenuity on behalf of its masonry contractors. Large slabs of local stone were utilized for the building’s foundation. The walls up to the first storey, are comprised of squared stones two feet thick, which were squared directly on site. Above the first storey, a main stone wall was built that measures 40 centimeters thick. Smaller field stones were used for the veneer of building that give the house a rustic charm. Echoing trends in architecture at the time, an Arts and Crafts aesthetic is reflected in its projecting central verandah with stone columns and closed balustrade, half-timbered gables, and the varied use of textured claddings, such as stucco and stone. The MIller Residence is significant for its association to the Miller family, who were prominent pioneer farmers in the Carmangay area. There house is symbolic of the prosperity of the Miller family and of Carmangay in the late 1910s. They constructed this homestead between 1916 and 1917 with their fifth child born shortly after its completion. Both W.H. Miller and his wife were prominent local citizens and were active members of the Carmangay community. W.H. Miller served as chairman of the school board for a period of 19 years; additionally he was a member of the Agricultural Society, and a director and teacher for the Methodist and United 34 M iller R esiden c e Church. W.H. Miller and his wife retired from farming in 1937 and relocated to Penticton. At this time, the house was passed on to their son Wallace and his wife Rose, who occupied the premises for some time. The Miller Residence is further valued as a historic farmstead and is a tangible link to the farming industry in rural Carmangay. During the Edwardian era, Carmangay and its surrounding area began to attract a number of wheat farmers. The industry grew steadily due to fertile soils and the completion of the CPR railway in 1909-11, which facilitated both the transport of goods and people to Calgary. The high level of craftsmanship demonstrated in the Miller Residence is atypical of farming homesteads in Southern Alberta, and reflects the prosperity of the Miller family in the Interwar period. The Miller Residence, known locally as the ‘Stone House’, remains a landmark of the community today. Character-Defining Elements Key elements that define the heritage character of the Miller Residence include its: • location in a rural setting, situated northeast of the Village of Carmangay; • siting on its original lot near the south edge of the property lines; • residential form, scale and massing as expressed by its: square plan; one and one-half storey height; front-gabled roof with side gabled wall dormers; • construction materials such as: massive stone foundation and internal wall support; parged sills and lintels; and fieldstone cladding graded by size on various elements at the first storey level; • Arts and Crafts detailing such as half-timbering at gable peaks, mixture of textured cladding materials including stone at the first storey and stucco in the gable ends, closed gables, central projecting front porch with stone column, closed balustrade widows walk above; • additional details such as two internal red brick chimneys; • original fenestration such as its 1-over-1 double-hung wooden sash windows; original window openings; original wood paneled front door inset with glass; and • associated landscape features such as wood- frame barn with gambrel roof. The Stone House, northeast of Carmangay. 1921 (Library and Archives Canada PA- 018464) 35 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 CPR RAILWAY TRESTLE to the town was selected to build a railway trestle. Carmangay experienced an explosive growth during this construction period as a high number of labourers were required to build the bridge over the two years it took to complete. Completed in 1911, the wood truss bridge was constructed using 3.5x3.5 meter timbers and braces. A 30 meter deck plate was added spanning the width of the Little Bow River Valley. On completion, the bridge was a total of 320 meters long and 44 meters high; one of the largest trestles for its height in Canada. 1910-11 Steel Bridge 1928 Wooden Bridge LOCATION Carmangay Rural ADDRESS LEGAL RY304 ATS SW;5;14;23;W4 HS# 104441 Statement of Integrity The Carmangay Rail Trestle is a solid steel railway bridge that appears to be in good condition. Description of Historic Place The Carmangay Railway Trestle is a dramatic steel span trestle bridge located north of the Village of Carmangay, east of Highway 23. The train trestle runs northsouth across the Little Bow River Valley and consists of steel towers supporting a steel span. The bridge is 150 meters long and 44 meters high. Heritage Value of Historic Place The Carmangay Railway Trestle is significant as a marker of the important role of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the early development of Carmangay. In 1909, the CPR commenced construction of a line built from Aldersyde to Kipp, Alberta. Carmangay was situated south of a narrowed portion of the Little Bow River Valley and a site close The Carmangay Railway Trestle gains further significance for its construction value and as a symbol of prairie ingenuity and engineering when it was converted from wood truss to a steel beam tower system in 1928. Elements of the original bridge were removed and replaced with steel in sections, to ensure continued service of the train. The wood truss system was replaced with more modern steel towers at intervals across the valley and a new steel span replaced the wooden span. The shallow end of the original truss on the south side was filled in, shortening the bridge by 150 meters. The Carmangay Railway Trestle, due to its prominent siting and dramatic scale north of the Village of Carmangay and its innovative construction in steel, is a landmark in the Vulcan County area. Character-Defining Elements The key elements that define the heritage character of the Carmangay Railway Trestle site include its: • location north of the Village of Carmangay spanning the Little Bow River Valley; • prominent siting from Highway 23 and the Village of Carmangay; • distinctive immense scale, horizontal massing, and original form of 1911 bridge; 36 CPR R ailway Trestle • steel construction including six steel towers set into large concrete piers supporting a massive steel span deck; smaller steel towers on north and south ends of bridge; • the Little Bow River flowing below the trestle with steep banks of the valley on either side of the river; • dramatic views of the curved trestle from both approaches. The wooden trestle as it appeared in the 1910’s (Glenbow Archives NA1505 -10) 37 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 BANK OF HAmILTON Heritage Value of Historic Place 1910 2nd Storey c.1915 1st Storey LOCATION Champion ADDRESS 135 Main St. LEGAL 6995AG;2;22 ATS SE;7;15;23;W4 HS# 22540 & 32357 ARCHITECT Mills & Hutton Statement of Integrity The Bank of Hamilton is in excellent condition, requiring only minor repair and restoration. Most of the original exterior treatments are intact and in good condition. The paint is peeling in many locations throughout the building and requires repainting. The front door has been replaced with a wooden door with a single light and is not sympathetic to its original design. Description of Historic Place The Bank of Hamilton is a two-storey wooden-frame building located on a corner lot in the Village of Champion. The former bank building features a prominent twostorey chamfered corner with entryway, original single assembly eight-over-one wooden-frame windows and a stepped parapet. The Bank of Hamilton is situated prominently on Main Street at 2nd Street in downtown Champion. The Bank of Hamilton, built in 1910, building demonstrates Champion’s early success as an important local commercial centre in southern Alberta and signifies the important need for financial institutions during Champion’s early period of growth in the Edwardian era. Champion was originally known as Cleverville and was located on the opposite side of the railway tracks. It was moved to its current location in 1910, upon arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to the area. The community was relocated using horses, pulleys and wagons, and upon settlement in its new location, was renamed Champion. The CPR was instrumental in the establishment of the Champion community and in the arrival of banks and businesses, bringing people from all over to take advantage of the advertised abundant farming and mining opportunities. The presence of the Bank of Hamilton in Champion is indicative of the speculation of potential wealth and growth in Champion and denotes the strong need for financial institutions to support the initial development of the village. The first manager of the bank was E.G. Ogilvie. The Bank of Hamilton is further valued as an excellent example of the Bank of Hamilton’s standard bank plans for rural areas. The Bank of Hamilton was established in 1872 in Hamilton, Ontario and commenced its western expansion in the early 1900s. The Bank of Hamilton employed a number of architects based in their head office in Hamilton to design plans for various urban and rural banks throughout Canada. It was common practice for larger corporations in the early development of western Canada to develop plans in-house with the intention that the plan would be built using local materials and trades. The architectural firm of Mills and Hutton, based in Hamilton, designed the majority of the Bank of Hamilton branches in Canada between 1905-10, including this branch in Champion. Charles Mills (1860-1934) 38 Bank of Hamilton and his partner Gordon Hutton (1881-1942) designed this handsome bank plan for a smaller, more rural bank. The bank building was constructed in phases with the first storey constructed in 1910 and the second storey added some time after 1915. • additional details such as one-storey red brick bank vault at rear of building; and • interior elements including interior trim and wood panelled door with transom light. The Champion Bank of Hamilton expresses a rational design with simple Classical Revival-style, popular in the Edwardian period, to portray an image of stability and prosperity to its clients. Wood was the primary exterior treatment, fashioned into a subtle stepped parapet with decorative wood cornice, full height chamfered corner and symmetrical fenestration. The bank was designed to house the bank and office on the main floor and living space for the bank manager at the second storey. The bank was built equipped with a red brick bank vault which is located at the rear of the lot. The Bank of Hamilton shifted to the Bank of Commerce after merging with the Bank of Commerce in 1924. The Bank of Hamilton building is additionally valued as an architectural landmark in the Village of Champion, which has provided commercial services to the community for one-hundred years. The Bank of Hamilton building was one of the first commercial buildings to be constructed in Champion following the arrival of the railway in 1910. The one-storey Bank of Hamilton building (centre) circa 1915 (Cleverville Champion 1905 -1970: A History of Champion and Area. Champion History Committee. 1970) Character-Defining Elements The key elements that define the heritage character of the Bank of Hamilton site include its: • siting on its original location on the north side of Main Street at 2nd Street in the Village of Champion; • location on a corner lot with facades on both streets, set to the property lines; • commercial form, scale and massing as expressed by its rectangular plan with flat roof and chamfered corner; • wood-frame construction such as wooden-frame; wooden lapped siding and wooden trim and stylistic details; • Classical Revival style details of the standard Bank of Hamilton plan including: stepped parapet, decorative cornice, and cornerboards; • fenestration including single assembly eight-over-one single-hung wooden sash windows at second storey; fixed windows with operable transoms at first storey; transom light over door; and original front door opening; 39 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 SAVOY HOTEL buildings. Heritage Value of Historic Place 1910-11 Statement of Integrity LOCATION Champion The Savoy Hotel has retained some of its original elements and design features. Original form scale and massing is intact as well as its original wooden sash windows at the second storey. The hotel has been clad in vinyl over the original wooden siding. Many of the original storefront windows with multipane lights and multi-light wooden doors as well as their openings have been removed and filled in. A balcony on the awning has also been removed sometime after the 1970s. ADDRESS 104 Main St. LEGAL 6995AG;3;1-3 ATS SE;7;15;23;W4 HS# 28906 ORIGINAL OWNERS John & Nels Johnson Frank Anderson ARCHITECT Alex Campbell Description of Historic Place The Savoy Hotel is a two-storey wood-frame building located on a prominent corner lot with two facades on Main Street and 1st Street in the Village of Champion. The rectangular building features a flat roof with a stepped parapet, symmetrical fenestration, wooden and vinyl siding and an awning with two square columns on the north facade. The hotel forms part of the original grouping of Champion’s historic commercial The Savoy Hotel building demonstrates Champion’s early success as an important local commercial and industrial centre in southern Alberta and signifies the important need for lodging during Champion’s principal period of growth in the early Edwardian era. Champion was originally known as Cleverville and was located further from the railway tracks until it was moved to its current location in 1910, upon arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) to the area. The community was relocated using horses, pulleys and wagons, and upon settlement in its new location, was renamed Champion. As a new community connected to Canada and the rest of the world via the railway, one of the most important buildings to be constructed was the local hotel. The arrival of the railway, combined with the Champion Board of Trade’s assertive promotional campaign naming the community as one of the most fertile in the West and promoting the farming, commercial, and coal mining opportunities to be had, caused an unparalleled population boom in the village. Constructed in 1911, and opening in May of the same year, the Savoy Hotel was built by original owners Frank Anderson, and John and Nels Johnson, with the assistance of local carpenters. The Savoy Hotel exists today as a representation of the early success of the community and of the promise brought to the area with the arrival of the railway. The Savoy Hotel is also significant for its integral role as a community gathering space and social hub in Champion. This hotel had a combined function of lodging rooms on the upper floors, and commercial services on the ground floor, which contributed to the street life in Champion. Strategically located across from the CPR Station, the Savoy Hotel would have been 40 S avoy Hotel the first point of entry for settlers and resource workers arriving in the area. Over its one hundred years in the community, the Savoy Hotel has served many functions, including its role as a hospital, a dental office and various commercial enterprises, in addition to providing accommodation. Character-Defining Elements The Savoy Hotel is additionally valued for its boomtown vernacular architecture in the Village of Champion. The Savoy Hotel was one of the first commercial buildings to be constructed in Champion following the arrival of the railway in 1910, opening its doors to settlers and workers in May of 1911. Constructed as a large, twostorey building on a corner lot across from the railway, its grand appearance alerted people that they had arrived in a prosperous community. Featuring wooden siding and a flat roof with stepped parapet, the Savoy Hotel serves a landmark status as one of the oldest and most recognizable buildings in the Champion community. • siting at the property lines; The key elements that define the heritage character of the Savoy Hotel include its: • location on a prominent corner lot on 1st Street at Main Street in the Village of Champion; • commercial form, scale and massing including its twostorey height, rectangular plan and flat roof; • wood-frame construction featuring wooden cornice at second storey and wooden siding under later vinyl siding; • Edwardian-era boomtown style features including the wooden stepped parapet and awning supported by square columns over entryway on north facade; • original fenestration such as single, double and triple assembly six-over-one single-hung wooden-frame windows and original window openings; and • additional features such as exterior red brick chimney at rear, south facade of hotel. The Savoy Hotel as it appeared in the 1920’s (Cleverville Champion 1905 1970: A History of Champion and Area. Champion History Committee. 1970) 41 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 COmmUNITY HALL & SCHOOL as a local historic landmark and is highly significant as an integral community facility that reflects the changing needs of the community through time. Built in 1920, as a Baptist Church, the building was financed by local citizens Joe Myers, Dick Boose, and Grant Mallory. This building, which later became a school was the heart of the community serving as a Sunday school, Women’s Institute and the site for numerous community activities. Although the school closed in 1953, the Kirkcaldy Hall continues to serve the social needs of this rural community today as the Kirkcaldy Community Club. 1920 LOCATION Kirkcaldy ADDRESS 520 Railway Ave. LEGAL 7272AG;2;1-4 ATS NE;9;16;24;W4 HS# 104449 ORIGINAL OWNER Baptist Union of Western Canada CONTRACTORS Francis and Ezekiel Rench Statement of Integrity Kirkcaldy Hall and School is in near original condition on the exterior of the building. Paint is deteriorating on the lapped siding and requires repainting. The original windows have been replaced with fixed windows and the openings have been filled in to accommodate the new windows. The original brick chimney has been replaced by a metal flume. The roof was replaced in 2011. Description of Historic Place The Kirkcaldy Hall and School is a modest, one-storey wood-frame building situated on the west side of Railway Avenue in the rural hamlet of Kirkcaldy in Vulcan County. This historic landmark is distinguishable by its front-gabled steeply pitched roofline, front gabled projecting entrance, and wooden lapped siding. Kirkcaldy Hall and School is additionally significant for its educational role in the community and the desire on behalf of the community to educate its growing population. In response to Kirkcaldy’s settlers to the need for community educational facilities, the Kirkcaldy School was established in 1925 in the same building, with assistance from the Women’s Institute. Between 1925 and 1953, the schoolboard rented the building with Church services continuing on Sunday. The school taught grades one through nine. Indicative of the Kirkcaldy’s closeknit community, local residents played an active role in the schools’ maintenance and teaching. Kirkcaldy Hall and School is also valued as an intact example of rural vernacular architecture built by local trades. The building was constructed by local residents, Francis and Ezekiel Rench and reflects a simple and modest design. Elements expressive of this design include its rectangular plan with front gabled roofline and narrow lapped siding accented with cornice board and cornerboards. Banked fenestration on the sides of the building allow natural light to filter into the interior space. heritage value of Historic Place The Kirkcaldy Hall and School is valued 42 Community Hall, Chur ch, & Sc hool Character-Defining Elements Key elements that define the heritage character of the Kirkcaldy Hall and School include its: • location on the west side of Railway Avenue in rural setting in the hamlet of Kirkcaldy; • siting close to Railway Avenue; • form, scale and massing as expressed by its one-storey height, steeply-pitched front gabled roof with narrow eaves, rectangular plan with front gabled projecting entryway and small addition with shed roof at the rear; • wood-frame construction with lapped wooden siding; • vernacular architectural details including symmetrical fenestration, cornerboards and cornice boards; • original fenestration such as 1-over-1 double-hung windows; original wood paneled door at the rear entrance with multi-light sashes; • additonal features such as internal red brick chimney; and • spacious grassed lot. 43 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA chamfered corner entryway and symmetrical large fixed windows. Heritage Value of Historic Place 1912 LOCATION Milo ADDRESS 200 Centre St. LEGAL 344DQ;3;1 ATS NW;31;18;21;W4 HS# 36883 CONTRACTOR Harry Deitz Statement of Integrity The Bank of Nova Scotia is a fairly intact historic building that has retained some of its original exterior fabric and detailing. The building has been clad recently with vinyl siding over original wooden siding and the cornice removed. The parapet on the front façade on Centre Street was extended down the east façade sometime after the vinyl siding was added. The chamfered corner entryway is original and has the original turned column on the northeast corner of the building, but it is now encased in the newer vinyl siding. The concrete foundation is in good condition, with no visible signs of cracking. Description of Historic Place The Bank of Nova Scotia is a long, rectangular one-storey wood-frame commercial building located on the corner of 1st Avenue and Centre Street in the Village of Milo. The bank, constructed 1912, continues to operate as a Scotiabank branch and features a flat roof with parapet, The Bank of Nova Scotia is valued for its connection with the early development of the Milo community. The one-storey commercial building was constructed in 1912 by Harry Deitz, who leased the building to the Bank of Nova Scotia. The Bank was established during a booming time period for Milo, when the small community’s optimism for its continued growth was unquestioned and a bank was viewed as critical to underpin Milo’s aspirations to one day become an important commercial centre. Milo, established in 1903 three kilometers east of its current location, was moved to its current location in 1924, close to the train tracks. The Milo Bank of Nova Scotia is a representation of this early period of growth and its longstanding, continuous operation is a testament to the necessary service it provides to residents and visitors of Vulcan County. The Milo Bank of Nova Scotia is additionally valued as a rare example of the Bank of Nova Scotia’s standard bank plans; the Milo Bank of Nova Scotia represents a rural bank plan design for the company. Established in 1832 in Halifax, Nova Scotia the Bank of Nova Scotia was the province’s first public bank. The bank expanded into the US and later the Caribbean and Central America before turning its attention to the west, opening its first western branches in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver in 1903. The Bank of Nova Scotia building represents a very good local example of a vernacular commercial building, once common but now rare. The simple style of the structure indicates its function as a branch bank expressed through its long rectangular plan, flat roof, chamfered corner, original window openings and original wooden drop siding and cornerboards. 44 Bank of Nova Sc otia • wood-frame construction featuring original wooden drop siding under later vinyl siding; Character-Defining Elements The key elements that define the heritage character of the Milo Bank of Nova Scotia include its: • location on the corner of 1st Avenue and Centre Street in the centre of Milo with facades on two streets; • elements of the Bank of Nova Scotia standard bank plan including chamfered corner with imbedded columns and cornerboards; • original window openings; and • external chimney. • siting on the property lines; • commercial form, scale and massing as expressed by its flat-roofed one-storey height,; The Bank of Nova Scotia as it appeared in 1928 (Glenbow Archives NA-1367- 61) F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 45 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 mILO HOTEL and openings on the second floor; original wooden siding on the first floor of the west elevation; and a low-pitch front-gabled roof, hidden by a ‘boomtown’ façade. Heritage Value of Historic Place 1926 LOCATION Milo ADDRESS 131 Centre St. LEGAL 2930DM;1;21,22 ATS NW;31;18;21;W4 HS# 104431 CONTRACTOR Frank Sutton Statement of Integrity Form, scale and massing are intact in this 1926 hotel. The building has been clad in later hardi-plank board on the front elevation and aluminum siding over original wooden siding. Window openings are original at the second storey with some original on-over-one and two-overtwo wooden sash windows on the east elevation. The west and front elevation windows have been replaced with vinyl windows. Window and door openings have been altered significantly at the first storey on the south and west elevations. The roof is in fair condition but the gutters at the parapet roof have an overgrowth of organic material. A one-storey addition was added to the east side of the building. The Milo Hotel is valued for its connection with the early growth and settlement of Milo’s second location and as one of the oldest original buildings in the community. The hotel, built in 1926 by Frank Sutton, has provided accommodation for the community and surrounding area for more than eighty-five years. After the settlement of Milo was moved to the opposite side of the railway tracks from its original site three kilometers east in 1924, the young community continued to grow, culminating in its achievement of village status in 1931. The Milo Hotel is a representation of this early period of growth and its longstanding operation is a testament to the necessary accommodation it provides to visitors to Milo. The Milo Hotel is additionally valued as a prominent community landmark and a good example of a late expression of modest ‘boomtown’ design. The ‘boomtown’ façade, comprised of a flat-top parapet, which is taller than the two-storey building, hides the low-pitch front-gable of the structure and features three original window frames on the second floor. There are additional original window openings on the east and west second floor elevations. The first floor west elevation features original wooden drop siding. Character-Defining Elements Description of Historic Place The Milo Hotel is a two-storey wood-frame building with a flat parapet roof located at the corner of 1st Avenue and Centre Street in the Village of Milo. The building features a variety of original wood-frame windows The key elements that define the heritage character of the Milo Hotel include its: • location on a corner lot at 1st Avenue and Centre Street in the centre of Milo with its main façade on Centre Street; 46 M ilo Hotel • siting on the property lines; • commercial form, scale and massing as expressed by its low-pitch front-gabled two-storey height with parapet roof at front façade and closed wooden soffits; • wood-frame construction featuring original wooden drop siding on the first floor west elevation; • boomtown vernacular style featuring flat-top parapet roof with wooden cornice • original fenestration such as single assembly one-overone and two-over-two wooden-sash windows and openings on the second floor; and • original interior red brick chimney. The Milo Hotel (left) as it appeared in 1928. Viewing northeast down Centre Street (Glenbow Archives NA-1367-59) 47 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 ELEVATOR ROW Heritage Value of Historic Place All three 1930 LOCATION Mossleigh ADDRESS 229/133/117 Railway Ave. LEGAL RW321;RLY;20 ATS SW;30;20;24;W4 HS# 63398 ORIGINAL OWNERS From west to east: Parrish and Heimbecker Pioneer Grain Company Searle Grain Company Statement of Integrity The Mossleigh Elevator Row is in fair condition as a grouping with solid foundations and intact exterior fabric. The wooden lapped siding on many of the elevators is damaged and requiring repairin-kind. The original painted logos are visible but require restoration. All three elevators were painted a mustard colour adopted by Parrish and Heimbecker circa 1986. The wooden shingle roofs require some repair and replacement in kind. Description of Historic Place The Mossleigh Elevator Row consists of three historic grain elevators on an east-west axis located north of the rail line at the east perimeter of the Hamlet of Mossleigh. The three elevators reflect a traditional wood crib elevator plan with gable roof and raised gabled cupola. All three have associated annex buildings and display painted logos of the original owners of the elevators. The Mossleigh Elevator Row, consisting of three grain elevators, is highly significant as one of only a handful of extant elevator rows in southern Alberta and dually as a declaration of Mossleigh’s late success as an important grain shipping centre. The Hamlet of Mossleigh was developed with the establishment of the CPR branch line from Arrowwood to Vauxhall in 1929, one of the last branch lines to develop in Alberta. Four grain elevators were constructed shortly after the siding was established in 1930 built by United Grain Growers, Parrish and Heimbecker, Pioneer Grain Co. and Searle Grain Co. The United Grain Growers elevator, the western most grain elevator and the first elevator to be built in Mossleigh, was razed by fire in 1967. The intact elevator row in Mossleigh is an enduring symbol of the important role of grain storage and shipping in Mossleigh in the late 1920s to early 1930s The Mossleigh Elevator Row gains additional value for the elevator rows’ demonstration of traditional elevator architectural design. Traditional design is reflected in the tall, slender totemic gabled massing, raised gabled cupola and associated attached and detached annexes. Company names are prominently displayed on the sides of all three elevators presenting the purchase history of the elevators in the painted logos. The east elevator has an octagonal loxstave added after the Second World War and is a rare example of this building type in Alberta. The Mossleigh Elevator Row serves as a landmark for Vulcan County. Character-Defining Elements The key elements that define the heritage character of the Mossleigh Elevator Row site include its: • siting of three elevators on their original location on the north side of the rail 48 Elevator Row tracks at the east end of the Hamlet of Mossleigh on Railway Avenue; including a large octagonal 30,000-bushel loxstave on the west facade. • open spacious prairie landscape surrounding grain elevators. ELEMENTS OF THE PARRISH AND HEIMBECKER LTD ELEVATOR • form, scale and massing as expressed by its traditional wood crib elevator plan with gabled roof and gabled roof cupola and 40,000 bushel capacity; • construction materials such as wooden-frame; wooden lapped siding under later shingle plate cladding; metal bargeboards; cedar shingle roof; • original fenestration including single assembly six-oversix wooden sash windows; • additional details such as original ‘P&H’ logo on front façade, exterior truck and hopper car loading spouts, and associated annex buildings including balloon frame wooden building annex on east. ELEMENTS OF THE PIONEER GRAIN ELEVATOR • form, scale and massing as expressed by its traditional wood crib elevator plan with gabled roof and gabled roof cupola and 60,000 bushel capacity; • construction materials such as wide wooden lapped siding; cedar shingle roof; • original fenestration including single assembly sixover-six wooden sash windows; sliding doors on west elevation; • additional details such as original painted ‘Pioneer Grain Co.’ logo on west elevation, exterior truck and hopper car loading spouts and associated annex buildings including a large rectangular balloon annex attached to the east elevation. ELEMENTS OF THE SEARLE GRAIN ELEVATOR • form, scale and massing as expressed by its traditional wood crib elevator plan with gabled roof and gabled roof cupola and 60,000 bushel capacity; • construction materials such as; wide wooden lapped siding and cedar shingle roof; • original fenestration including single assembly six-oversix wooden sash windows; • additional details such as its original painted ‘Searle.’ logo on west elevation and associated annex buildings 49 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 QUEENSTOWN HALL community of Queenstown. By the late 1910s, wheat production had developed into an important local industry in the area that supplied much needed grain crops during the First World War. The thriving agricultural endeavours of many of the early settlers in the area led to the establishment of Queenstown in the 1910s, west of the CPR rail line. The hamlet sprouted quickly after its establishment with the construction of several commercial buildings, a hotel, a boarding house, a bank, a service station, and five-grain elevators. The Queenstown Hall was built in 1918 to serve the community needs of the growing community in the late 1910s. 1918 LOCATION Queenstown ADDRESS 320 Railway Ave. LEGAL 7780DL;4;1 ATS SE;26;19;22;W4 HS# 104453 Statement of Integrity The Queenstown Hall is in good near original condition with most of its original elements intact. The hall paint is chipping and is in poor condition, requiring repainting in the near future. Some of the windows have been boarded up. The asphalt roof is deteriorated and requires replacement in the near future. Description of Historic Place Queenstown Hall is a one-storey, woodenframe community hall located on the west side of Railway Avenue in the Hamlet of Queenstown. The hall is distinguished by its long rectangular front-gabled plan with central door, wooden lapped siding and Arts & Crafts detailing including a gable screen and triangular brackets. The hall is located on a large open prairie lot. Heritage Value of Historic Place The Queenstown Hall is highly valued as an icon of the development of the agricultural The Queenstown Hall is further valued as an initiative to formalize community connections within the rural farming community. Community halls were an essential part of community life, and the hall was integral to promoting social activities for local residents and as a meeting location for several community organizations including several fraternal organizations, United Farmers Association, and the Women’s Institute. The hall was constructed with the help of volunteer labour. The Queenstown Hall is also significant as an excellent example of vernacular architecture that characterizes many community-related structures in the late ninetieth to early twentieth century. It is similar in size and construction to other community halls in Vulcan County including Alston Hall and Reid Hill Hall. The hall displays many original elements including front-gabled rectangular massing and central front entryway with double wood-paneled doors with multilights. Arts and Crafts style details, a popular style in the 1910s and 20s in rural Alberta, is visible in its overhanging eaves with exposed rafter tails, triangular brackets and gable screens at the gable peak and awning over the front entryway. 50 Queenstown Hall Character-Defining Elements The key elements that define the heritage character of the Queenstown Hall site include its: • siting on its original location on the west side of Railway Avenue in the Hamlet of Queenstown; • location close to the property lines on a large lot; • form, scale and massing as expressed by its onestorey rectangular plan with low pitched roofline with overhanging open eaves and central awning; • wood-frame construction such as wooden-frame; wooden lapped siding and wooden trim and stylistic details; • Arts & Crafts detailing including exposed and pointed rafter tails, triangular brackets, gable screens at the gable peak and awning over the front entryway; • fenestration including triple assembly multipane wooden sash windows on sides of hall; double wood-paneled doors with multi-lights in central front entryway; and • open spacious prairie landscape surrounding hall. 51 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 LIBERTY SCHOOL Heritage Value of Historic Place 1909 LOCATION Rural Northeast ADDRESS LEGAL ATS SW;29;19;20;W4 HS# 104457 Statement of Integrity Liberty School is a rare intact rural school in nearly original condition. Many original elements such as the windows, doors, siding and trim are intact and in good condition requiring some minor repair and repainting. The roof has been replaced with asphalt some time in the last 10 years. Windows are broken on the front façade and diamond window opening at the gable peak. Description of Historic Place Liberty School, located along Township Road 194, between Range Road 204 and 205 and near Majorville, is a one-storey wooden-frame rural school building featuring a front-gabled roof and original wooden lapped siding and wood-frame double-hung windows. The school, distinguished by its diamond shaped windows at the front gable peak is located set back from the road on a rural farming site and is marked with a historic school marker. Built in 1909, Liberty School is highly valued as an early intact example of the systematic development of rural education and a network of rural schools in the Vulcan County area. Beginning in 1905, school districts were developed every four to five miles in Alberta, as mandated by the Ministry of Education to allow children to walk to school. As the rural population of the Majorville area grew with increased agricultural settlement, there was a need to provide services, including education, to the community. Educational services in the area had previously been operated out of a local resident’s home. The Liberty School was part of School District 1940, which was established on February 25, 1909. In March of the same year, the School Board borrowed $2,000 from the Ministry of Education to construct the Liberty School building, with work commencing in July. Liberty School operated for thirty years before small districts were consolidated in 1939. Former Liberty students were then bussed to Milo. The building has been used as a community gathering space since the 1950s. Liberty School is additionally significant as a pristine example of one of four Ministry of Education’s standard school plans for rural communities in Alberta. The plans were simple and elegant in their design, and allowed for inexpensive construction that could be undertaken by local trades. Elements of the rural school standard plans including simple rectangular frontgabled massing, wooden lapped siding, pointed wooden bargeboards and wooden cornerboards. The banked wooden-frame double-hung windows allow natural light into the school. Liberty School is accentuated by its dramatic Prairie setting, with a notable absence of any trees or structures in its vicinity. The Liberty School is a landmark historic resource in the Vulcan County area due to its nearly intact condition and rural setting. 52 Liberty Sc hool Character-Defining Elements The key elements that define the heritage character of Liberty School include its: • location on Township Road 194, near Majorville; • set-back from the road in a rural prairie setting; • form, scale and massing as expressed by its one-storey height with front-gabled roof; • wood-framed construction featuring original wooden lapped siding; • features of the Ministry of Education’s standard rural school plan, including: pointed wooden bargeboards and wooden trim, cornerboards, cornice boards and water table and original signage stating “1909 Liberty School District 1940”; and • original fenestration including banked single-assembly, wooden-sash two-over-two single-hung windows and a wood-frame diamond window above the front door; original wooden door with five panels and transom light. 53 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 HEARNLEIGH POST OFFICE Heritage Value of Historic Place Post Office opening 1908 LOCATION Rural Northwest ADDRESS 235036 Twp. Rd. 182 LEGAL ATS SE;18;18;23;W4 HS# 104459 ORIGINAL OWNERS Edward & Sarah Hearn Statement of Integrity The Hearnleigh Post Office is an intact pioneer residence that has been well maintained and features many original elements. Paint is peeling and chipping in many locations on the wooden exterior treatments and requires repainting. A shed roof addition was added to the rear of the house but is sympathetic to the original design. The roof has been replaced recently with asphalt. Description of Historic Place The Hearnleigh Post Office is a one and one-half-storey, T-shaped plan residence with a shed roof addition on the west elevation. The residence and former post office is located on a large rural area northwest of the Town of Vulcan on the north side of Township Road 182, just east of Range Road 240. The house is surrounded by a low profile rubblestone and concrete wall in the front yard and a mansard roof barn to the west of the residence. The Hearnleigh Post Office is highly valued as an intact example of the unique system of communication and mail in the rural Vulcan County area in the early years of settlement in the 1900s. Prior to construction of more centralized mail distribution centres and improved transportation networks, post offices were established in rural farming residences, which served a dual function as a centralized distribution centre and community gathering space. The house was owned by Edward and Sarah Hearn, who arrived in the area in 1905. The closest distribution point to the area was in Brant, a 45-kilometers round trip. As the community continued to populate, the settlers contacted the government to establish a post office in the area. Edward Hearn was selected as postmaster with the Hearn Residence to be converted for use as the post office in 1908. ‘Hearnleigh’ was the consensus for the name, based on an amalgamation of Hearn and Leigh, the first owner of the Hearn property, Harry Amey’s home town, Leigh, Ontario. Edward traveled twice weekly to Brant to pick up the mail and Sarah helped operate the post office out of their house. The Hearnleigh Post Office operated until 1922, when individual mail boxes were installed along the rural route in the area. Edward passed away shortly after in 1924, and Sarah in 1925. The Hearnleigh Post Office represents a creative response to the challenging conditions put forth in rural agricultural settlements in the area. The Hearnleigh Post Office is also significant as an excellent example of a rural pioneer residence converted for use as a post office. The T-shaped plan, one and one-half-storey pioneer residence displays vernacular detailing such as lapped wooden siding with imbedded cornerboards and cornice boards, single assembly two-overtwo single-hung wooden-sash windows, and an internal concrete block chimney. The post office portion of the house was built on 54 Hearnleigh Post Offic e the west side of the house in a shed-roof addition, accessed through a separate wood-paneled door on the north facade. The property is well landscaped with a low profile rubblestone wall surrounding the front of the property. Though its function as the post office ended in the 1920s, the Hearnleigh Post Office residence has remained an important landmark in the rural Vulcan County area. Character-Defining Elements The key elements that define the heritage character of the Hearnleigh Post Office site include its: • siting on its original location on the north side of Township Road 182, just east of Range Road 240 in Vulcan County; • location set back from the road on a large farm lot; • residential form, scale and massing as expressed by its one and one-half-storey, T-shaped plan with shed-roof dormers on either side of the side gabled portion of the residence; rubblestone and concrete foundation; • wood-frame construction such as wooden-frame; wooden lapped siding and wooden trim; • vernacular residential detailing such as exposed rafter tails, embedded trim, cornerboards and cornice boards; • original fenestration including single assembly two-overtwo single-hung wooden sash windows; six-paneled wooden doors; • additional details such as concrete block interior chimney; • Hearnleigh Post Office addition including shed-roof addition with banked window openings with separate entryway on west side of residence; and • open spacious prairie landscape surrounding residence, low profile rubblestone and concrete wall surrounding front portion in front of residence; and associated gambrel roof barn to southwest of residence. 55 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 THE DRY DITCH 1909-17 Statement of Integrity LOCATION Rural Southeast The Dry Ditch is visible in many locations throughout the east side of Vulcan County east of the Little Bow Reservoir and the south end of McGregor Lake Reservoir. In areas where the ditch is visible from the road, there are opportunities for interpretation. ADDRESS LEGAL IRR158/IRR164/IRR361 ATS HS# 104461 Description of Historic Place The Dry Ditch is an historic watercourse that runs from the south dam at McGregor Lake Reservoir, south and east following the east side of Travers Reservoir connecting to Little Bow Reservoir, and petering out shortly thereafter. The ditch, built from 1913 to 1917 was constructed to control water for agricultural development. It is approximately 25 kilometers in length with a range of 10 to 15 meters in width. Heritage Value of Historic Place The Dry Ditch is invaluable for its prairie ingenuity and engineering as an intact remnant of early irrigation initiatives in the area. When settlers arrived to farm the rich soils of the Snake Valley, it was quickly realized that an irrigation system was required to channel water to the various farms in the region. In 1906, approximately 154,000-hectares of land surrounding the Snake Valley depression and further south and east was purchased by the Robbins Irrigation Company with anticipation of converting the land into an agricultural oasis. This land interest was shortly transferred to the Englishbased company Southern Alberta Land Company, with headquarters in Bow City. The Southern Alberta Land Company sold shares to markets and investors in England to raise money to build the McGregor Lake and Little Bow Reservoir to the southeast. Construction began in 1909 on both projects and the dams were completed in approximately 1912 using locally sourced materials and local labour. The Dry Ditch was built from 1913 to 1917 and connected the McGregor Lake Reservoir to the Little Bow Reservoir. The canal was excavated from the south dam at the McGregor Lake Reservoir to just east of the Little Bow Reservoir. The canal project actively engaged local labour, providing seasonal work for the local population. The resulting canal facilitated settlement as well as agricultural and industrial development. The project stalled due to financial constraints due to the First World War. Irrigation was not undertaken again until 1954 with the building of the Travers Reservoir; portions of the original ditch were used to build a larger canal. The Dry Ditch was never formally utilized to its full capacity but the ditch remains visible and intact in many locations in the area. The Dry Ditch is additionally significant as a man-made, cultural, landscape feature. It provides natural drainage and maintains local environmental and habitat values. Character-Defining Elements 56 The Dry Ditc h The key elements that define the heritage character of the Dry Ditch site include its: • man-made form as a watercourse that runs from the south dam at the McGregor Lake Reservoir, south following the east side of Travers Reservoir, and west to the Little Bow Reservoir, petering out just east of the reservoir; • portions of the natural dry waterway that provide habitat to a variety of specimen plants, trees, and fauna. Canada Land & Irrigation Co. Ltd. Operation map of Main Canal, Division B, Section 1 & 2, between the south dam of Lake McGregor and Little Bow Reservoir. June 6, 1918 (Glenbow Archives M2389 - 499) 57 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 VULCAN ADVOCATE BUILDING downtown core. Heritage Value of Historic Place 1917 LOCATION Vulcan ADDRESS 211 Centre St. LEGAL 7000AG;6;27 ATS SE;5;17;24;W4 HS# 27880 Statement of Integrity The Vulcan Advocate building is in good condition, requiring minimal conservation to exterior character defining elements. The brick cladding is in good condition and the building was painted sometime before 1979. The original tripartite wooden-sash windows were removed and replaced with a single fixed pane on the western window opening. Both window openings were replaced with new glass. The signboard has been clad in wood and a concrete block addition was added to the rear of the building in 1959. Description of Historic Place The Vulcan Advocate building is a onestorey brick masonry commercial building with a central recessed arched entryway and arched parapet with brick pilasters bordering each end of the building. The building is located on the south side of Centre Street in the Town of Vulcan, and is connected and associated to a grouping of historic commercial buildings in the The Vulcan Advocate newspaper building is significant as one of the Town of Vulcan’s longest running businesses. The Vulcan Advocate newspaper was first established in 1913 by Charles Clark, the owner of The High River Times in High River, Alberta. The first issue of The Vulcan Advocate was published August 6, 1913, typeset by hand and printed in High River. Publication of the newspaper was undertaken in The High River Times office until efficient equipment and office space was acquired. Two months later, a two-page newspaper press was purchased and run out of a small woodenframe building on Centre Street. R.W. Glover was the first publisher; a position he held until 1919. The purpose-built Vulcan Advocate building was constructed in 1917 to house the printing press and offices. It operated as the Vulcan Advocate newspaper building until it was moved to a larger facility in November 2008. The Vulcan Advocate newspaper building is also highly significant for its role in the community as an integral form of communication for settlers in the town and the surrounding rural agricultural area. As one of the area’s most consistent form of communication, The Vulcan Advocate has witnessed the community’s rise from an agricultural settlement to its incorporation as a Town in 1921. The Vulcan Advocate brought news of two World Wars home to families in Vulcan, and was often one of the only sources of information on local and world events to reach the community on a regular basis throughout much of the history of the community. The Vulcan Advocate has provided information on current events to Vulcan for almost one-hundred years and remains a significant part of the Vulcan County area serving the communities of Arrowwood, Brant, Berrywater, Carmangay, Champion, Lomond, Milo, Mossleigh and 58 Advocate Building Vulcan. Character-Defining Elements The Vulcan Advocate newspaper building is additionally valued for its modest one-storey masonry construction representative of Vulcan’s transformation from small agricultural community to one of the largest wheat producing and shipping centres in the world. The Vulcan Advocate building represents a period of growth and prosperity in Vulcan in the mid to late 1910s. The date of wartime construction demonstrates the agricultural boom that occurred during the First World War, a time when rising food prices brought new prosperity to local farms. The commercial centre in Vulcan as well as many local farm residences were built during the war years, an unusual pattern at a time when there was little other domestic construction in the province. The building, like many of the commercial buildings in the town, exhibits modest scale and massing coupled with local materials and elegant detailing. Late Edwardian-era vernacular commercial elements visible on the building include the brick pilasters bordering each side of the building, a central arched recessed entryway and an arched central parapet. The key elements that define the heritage character of the Vulcan Advocate building include its: • siting on its original location on the south side of Centre Street downtown and connected to a grouping of commercial historic buildings in the Town of Vulcan; • siting to the property lines; • commercial form, scale and massing as expressed by its one-storey rectangular plan with flat roof; • masonry construction including red brick cladding; • Late Edwardian-era vernacular commercial elements including brick pilasters with brick capitals at each corner of the building, brick lintels, brick quoining, arched central parapet and arched and recessed central entryway with wooden soffits; • fenestration including tripartite fixed windows and original window openings; fanlight above door. The Advocate Building as it appeared several months after its construction (The Vulcan Advocate. February 27, 1918) 59 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 BANK OF HAmILTON windows. Heritage Value Of Historic Place 1910-11 Statement Of Integrity LOCATION Vulcan The Bank of Hamilton, Vulcan Branch is in fairly good condition with many intact original exterior elements. Form, scale and massing are intact, save for the alteration and filling in of the original chamfered inset corner entryway on the southwest main façade of the building. The original drop wooden siding is intact under later stucco cladding. The wooden cornice is original but requires a higher level of restoration and repair. Fenestration is original at the upper storey and the west façade but has been filled in on the north façade. ADDRESS 102 2nd Ave. LEGAL 7000AG;2;22 ATS SE;5;17;24;W4 HS# 30501 CONTRACTOR A. Bourne Description Of Historic Place The Bank of Hamilton, Vulcan Branch is a modest, two-storey commercial bank building situated at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Centre Street with facades on both streets in the downtown core of the Town of Vulcan. This historic building is characterized by its rectangular plan, flat roof with parapet wall, wooden cornice, stucco cladding, and tripartite wooden The Bank of Hamilton, Vulcan Branch is valued as the first bank to provide financial services in the Town of Vulcan and is linked with the town’s early development and settlement. The first Bank of Hamilton was originally established in Vulcan in 1910-11, operating out of the Elves Brothers store with a sole representative, Mr. O’Brien. Vulcan emerged as an important agricultural center, with the arrival of the CPR branch line in 1910-11 that ran from Kipp through Vulcan to Aldersyde, linking to Calgary. Connected to the railway was the town’s first grain elevator, which farmers could reach easily to export bushels of grain. Speculating that farmers would also require commercial resources, the CPR sold off parcels of its land, thus creating the Town of Vulcan. The Bank of Hamilton was the first to purchase a CPR lot in Vulcan. Presently the building continues to operate as a commercial building and contributes to the consistent and distinctive historic built form of downtown Vulcan. The Bank of Hamilton, Vulcan Branch, built 1912-13, is highly valued as an intact example of a rural standard plan for the Bank of Hamilton. The Bank of Hamilton was founded in 1872 in Hamilton, Ontario and by 1910 had expanded its presence from Ontario to the West with over 128 locations. The presence of the Bank of Hamilton in the town of Vulcan denotes the strong need for financial institutions during the Edwardian era development of the Town of Vulcan as the town was being established. In 1924, the Bank of Hamilton merged with the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which today remains a leading international financial institution. Constructed during Vulcan’s early development, the Bank of Hamilton displays elements of the rural Bank of Hamilton standard bank plan. The false parapet wall gives the illusion of a 60 Bank of Hamilton larger building, while the simple façade with a handsome wooden cornice and tripartite wooden windows projects an image of security and stability. • siting at the property lines; Due to its prominent siting on its original corner lot in downtown Vulcan and as an intact example of the standard Bank of Hamilton plans, the Bank of Hamilton, Vulcan Branch is a landmark in the community. • wood-frame construction with wooden drop siding under later stucco cladding; Character-Defining Elements Key elements that define the heritage character of the Bank of Hamilton include its: • location on a prominent corner lot in downtown Vulcan, set amongst other historic buildings; The Bank of Hamilton, right, amid a parade on Atlantic Avenue (2nd Avenue) in 1914 (Glenbow Archives NA-2685 -72) • commercial form, scale and massing as expressed by its two-storey height; rectangular plan and flat roof; • elements of the standard Bank of Hamilton plan including false parapet wall, wooden cornice; • original fenestration such as tripartite wooden-sash window with fixed upper sash and original wooden frames; • additional details such as internal red brick chimney; and • original interior elements including wooden trim. Streetscape on the northside of Vulcan Street at Atlantic Avenue in 1913. Bank of Hamilton on the left (Glenbow Archives NA-2415 -1) 61 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 KING RESIDENCE Heritage Value of Historic Place 1920 LOCATION Vulcan ADDRESS 522 1st St. S LEGAL 5163CC;29;5,6 ATS SW;5;17;24;W4 HS# 104436 ORIGINAL OWNERS Errett & Siverena King Statement of Integrity The King Residence has many original elements in good condition, requiring minor replacement-in-kind and restoration. The original design of the house featured a fullwidth open verandah, which was filled in some time after 1929. Windows are intact and in good condition. A metal roof was added to the house some time in the last 10 years. Description of Historic Place The King Residence is located on the north side of 1st Street South, on a residential street south and west of downtown in the Town of Vulcan. The house is a picturesque Arts & Crafts Bungalow distinguished through its one and one-half storey massing with hipped roof and central hipped-roof dormer. A central multi-light door and infilled verandah with multilight woodensash windows accents the primary façade of the house. The house is set back on a large property. The King Residence is valued for its connection to the home’s first owners, Errett King and his wife, Siverena (nee McKittrick) who were prominent pioneer settlers in the Village of Vulcan. This house is symbolic of their success in the Town of Vulcan. Errett was a pharmacist and optometrist, who with his wife, emigrated to the west from Dufferin County, Ontario just after they married in 1912. The Kings moved several times and settled in Vulcan circa 1918, purchasing the Copeland Drug Store, which was located in two rooms at the north end of the Imperial Hotel in downtown Vulcan. He later purchased the General Store on the north side of Centre Street where he ran the King Drug Store for many years. Errett was an active member of the community, sitting on town council and eventually serving as Mayor from 1936-39. Siverena was a prominent member of the United Church, the Women’s Institute and the Red Cross and Eastern Star. They purchased two lots from the CPR in ca. 1919 on 1st Street South, then known as Apollo Street. They built this property circa 1920. The King Residence is additionally valued as a superior and rare example of an Arts and Crafts Bungalow design in the Town of Vulcan. Inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, a popular architectural style in the late Edwardian era (1910s), this style of house was typified by rational space planning, the use of natural materials and a mix of traditional design elements such as picturesque rooflines, decorative brackets and a rich textural contrast of cladding materials. The Arts and Crafts style was popularized through countless periodicals and plan books, expressing both the traditional aspects of the movement as well as modern conveniences. Elements of the Arts and Crafts style are visible in one and one-half storey massing with hipped roof, hipped dormers and variety of siding styles including shingle and lapped siding. 62 King R E si den c e Character-Defining Elements The key elements that define the heritage character of the King Residence include its: • siting in its original location, set back from the property lines in a residential setting on 1st Street South in the Town of Vulcan ; enclosed verandah and single and triple assembly nineover-one single-hung wooden-sash windows; • additional details such as two internal red brick chimneys; and • landscape features such as large landscaped lot. • residential form, scale and massing as expressed by its square plan, one and one-half storey height with a hipped roof with open soffits and four symmetrical hipped dormers at each elevation; • wood construction including wooden frame, wooden siding and wooden details and trim; • Arts and Crafts style details including its: variety of siding types such as lapped siding on the main body and shingle siding at the dormers, exposed rafter tails, full width enclosed verandah with pointed arch verandah openings, columns at corners of enclosed porch; • fenestration including banked eight-over-one windows at The King’s Residence (centre-right) in 1929 (Wheat Country: A History of Vulcan and District. Vulcan & District Historical Society. 1973) 63 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 ImPERIAL HOTEL and is prominently situated in downtown Vulcan. Heritage Value of Historic Place 1912 LOCATION Vulcan ADDRESS 208 Centre St. LEGAL 7000AG;7;1-4 ATS SE;5;17;24;W4 HS# 27491 ORIGINAL OWNER Albert Mutz Integrity Statement The Imperial Hotel has undergone a number of significant alterations over time. Its original form, scale and massing are intact. The building’s original windows have been replaced with vinyl although some original wooden sash storefront windows are intact on the first storey. Aluminum shutters were added which are not sympathetic to the original design. The original concrete block cladding was covered with stucco and vinyl siding, with portions of the siding in poor repair or missing. The cornice is original but requires repainting. Description of Historic Place The Imperial Hotel is a three-storey building located at the corner of Centre Street and 2nd Avenue North in the Town of Vulcan. The L-shaped building with a commercial function on the main floor and lodging above, has a flat roof, corner chamfered entryway and symmetrical fenestration on the second and third storeys. It is part of a grouping of commercial historical buildings The Imperial Hotel signifies the Town of Vulcan’s establishment as an important agricultural and commercial center in southern Alberta and denotes the increased need for lodging during Vulcan’s principal period of growth during the Edwardian era. Vulcan emerged as an important agricultural center, with the arrival of the CPR branch line in 1910-11 that ran from Kipp through Vulcan to Aldersyde, eventually linking to Calgary. Connected to the railway was the town’s first grain elevator, which farmers could reach easily to export bushels of grain. Speculating that farmers would need commercial resources, the CPR sold of parcels of its land, thus creating the Town of Vulcan. This hotel exemplifies the type of lodging needed to house labour that was traveling to the area to take advantage of the wheat exports and railroading expansion. Hotels as such were often the first point of entry for resource works and provided both short and long-term accommodation. The Imperial Hotel had a combined function of lodging rooms on the upper floors, and commercial services on the ground floor, which contributed to the street life of Vulcan. Additionally, the Imperial Hotel is significant for its association to prairie ingenuity in the area and to its affiliation with the hotel’s first owner, Albert Mutz. The two-storey Imperial Hotel was originally situated in the town of Frank, Alberta and was dissembled and moved to Vulcan in 1912. Fearing future rock slides, like the devastating rock slide that razed the town in 1903, and identifying business opportunity and ingenuity, owner Albert Muntz had the imperial hotel dissassembled, salvaged and moved to Vulcan. There, he used salvaged material to build a three storey hotel. Not only was the hotel the largest between 64 I mperial Hotel Centre Street and 2nd Avenue North in the commercial center of Vulcan; Lethbridge and Calgary, but it was also the best equipped for its time as Albert Mutz installed his own water, sewer and electric power plant. In 1916, Mutz installed a steam plant for the electric lighting, which also allowed him to install the first lights on Centre Street in Vulcan and a laundry service using steam from the plant. In 1930, Mutz sold the hotel to Joseph Dobbs, who renamed it the Dobbs Hotel. • siting close to the street; • commercial form, scale and massing as expressed by its: three-storey height, flat roof with flat-top parapet, and L-shaped plan; The Imperial Hotel is additionally valued for its vernacular commercial architecture. Originally showcasing elements of the Classical Revival style, popularized during the Edwardian period of development, the Imperial Hotel was a handsome and stately building originally featuring concrete block cladding with quoining details, multipane windows and parged decorative lintels. Elements of the original rebuilt hotel are visible in its original L-shaped plan with three storeys, form and massing, original single assembly window openings, overhanging cornice and chamfered corner entryway. Character-Defining Elements Key elements that define the heritage character of the Imperial Hotel include its: • construction including wooden frame with concrete block cladding under later stucco and vinyl siding; • original window opening and pattern at the second and third storey with original one-over-one singlehung wooden sash windows at the rear elevations with transom above; wooden sash storefront windows at first storey • elements of its original Edwardian era vernacular commercial design including overhanging roof cornice and chamfered corner entryway; • additional features such as interior red brick chimney and remains of power plant; and • interior features such as original wainscoting, wooden trim, and wood paneled doors and radiators. • prominent corner location with facades on two streets at The ‘Dobbs Hotel’, as it was known after 1930. (Prairie Postcards. Peel’s Prairie Provinces PC004940) F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 65 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 CPR DEmONSTRATION FARm of an historic two-storey hipped-roof Foursquare residence close to the property lines with shingle siding. A low profile dualpitched front gabled roof barn, a hallmark of early CPR ‘Ready-Made’ farm structures in Alberta, is located to the south and behind the residence. The farm site includes several farming outbuildings. Heritage Value of Historic Place 1912 LOCATION Vulcan Rural ADDRESS LEGAL ATS NE;33;16;24;W4 HS# 104472 Statement of Integrity The CPR Demonstration Farm is an abandoned site, so has therefore suffered from extensive deterioration due to lack of maintenance. In both the barn and the house, the wood shingle roof is damaged beyond repair, requiring complete replacement as a top priority. The shingle siding on both of the buildings is also in poor condition requiring replacement in kind where salvageable. Windows are for the most part, boarded up, providing some level of protection for the interior elements and original windows. Windows that are not boarded up have missing panes of glass and damaged sashes. Paint has deteriorated completely on both of the buildings as well and require repainting. Description of Historic Place The CPR Demonstration Farm is located just east of the Town of Vulcan on the south side of Highway 534, just east of Highway 16. The abandoned farm site, surrounded by a horizontal plank wooden fence consists The CPR Demonstration Farm, built 1912 is highly significant as an intact farming complex designed and built as a demonstration farm by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). Beginning in the late 1800s, the CPR actively sold CPR land cheap and quick to facilitate development in proximity to their newly constructed railway lines. The primary goal of the CPR was to sell irrigable land to build a prosperous agricultural community in the Western Irrigation Districts in which it held its primary holdings. Beginning in 1908, the CPR set up several demonstration and experimental farms along the main CPR line from Calgary to Medicine Hat in Brooks, Lathom, Bassano, Tilley and Cassils to teach potential new settlers proper irrigation and farming methods on the prairies. This farm is a small example of a demonstration farm to showcase the agricultural potential of the area. The CPR Demonstration Farm is also highly valued as an example of CPR’s standard Ready-Made and Demonstration Farm house and barn plans. The Foursquare wooden-frame house was constructed using Standard Plan No. 8. The plan, as executed in the physical building, features a two storey, square plan with broader massing typical of Edwardian farmhouses. The house displays a hipped roof with narrow eaves and shingle siding on the upper storey and lapped siding at the first storey. The fullwidth hipped roof verandah in Standard House Plan No. 8 was replaced with a partial width verandah, now filled in on 66 CPR Demonstration Farm the north façade. The classic CPR Ready-Made barn is attributed to Standard Barn No. 7, which features a low profile dual-pitch front-gabled roofline with wide low pitched roofline at the first storey to accommodate livestock and farming equipment and a smaller hayloft at the gable peak. The barn is accented with shingle siding at the gable peak and drop siding at the first storey. The entire house, barn and outbuilding complex, all built with standard CPR Ready-Made plans is one of the few intact CPR Demonstration farm sites in Alberta and is thus a landmark in the Vulcan County community drop siding at main storey; wood shingle roof; wooden trim and stylistic details; • elements of CPR Ready-Made Standard Barn Plan No. 7 including variety of siding types, bargeboards, dualpitch roofline, central ventilator and sliding barn door; and • original fenestration including banked multipane window openings. Character-Defining Elements The key elements that define the heritage character of the CPR Demonstration Farm site include its: • siting on its original location on the south side of Highway 534, east of Highway 16, just east of the Town of Vulcan; • location set back from the road on a large farm lot; and • associated outbuildings and landscaping such as perimeter fence. ELEMENTS OF THE RESIDENCE • residential form, scale and massing as expressed by its two-storey, square plan with hipped roof with narrow eaves; • wood construction such as wooden-frame structural system; bellcast wooden shingle siding at second storey and lapped siding at main storey; wood shingle roof; wooden trim and stylistic details; • elements of CPR Ready-Made Standard House Plan No. 8 such as closed soffits and cornice board, partial width enclosed verandah; • original fenestration including original single assembly window and door openings; • additional details such as interior red brick chimney. ELEMENTS OF THE BARN • form, scale and massing as expressed by its two-storey, dual-pitched front gabled roofline with implement storage and livestock areas at main storey and hayloft at second storey; • wood construction such as wooden-frame structural system such; wooden shingle siding at second storey and CPR Ready-Made architectural drawings (Glenbow Archives M2276) 67 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 RCAF STATION VULCAN situated on the northwest corner of the site. Historic markers are located just east of the intersection at Township Road 162 and Range Road 154. Heritage Value of Historic Place 1942 LOCATION Vulcan Rural ADDRESS 161057 Rge. Rd. 132 LEGAL 7910078;1-3 ATS NW;10;16;25;W4 HS# 104475 Statement of Integrity The Vulcan RCAF Station contains six of the seven original asbestos tile clad hangers and large portions of the original triangular runway as well as several outbuildings. One of the original hangers was demolished of late due to structural issues. The remaining six hangers, save for damage to the glazing in the multipane fixed and banked windows on the hangers, are in good condition. One of the hangers has recently been restored by the current owner. Many of the original asphalt runways are in disrepair and a number of the original buildings have been demolished. Description of Historic Place The Vulcan RCAF Station is a Second World War flying training station situated in a remote rural area at the corner of Township Road 162 and Range Road 154, southwest of the Town of Vulcan. The aerodrome, built during the Second World War, is situated on a triangular plan of runways with six original massive metal clad hangers The Vulcan RCAF Station has significant value as an intact British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and as the only No. 2 Flying Instructor School in Western Canada at the time. Built during the Second World War and opening August 3, 1942, the Federal Government constructed the Vulcan RCAF Station to serve as a training school for instructors in the Royal Canadian Air Force under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The plan contributed immensely to the war efforts, enabling the building of RCAF training schools across Canada. Over 1000 students were trained at the Vulcan RCAF Station. This area west of Vulcan County was selected due to its favorable local weather conditions, flat topography, high elevation and low population density. The base was converted to a No. 19 Service Flying Training School to train bomber pilots after the No. 2 Flying Instructor School moved to the Pearce Aerodrome in Fort Macleod May 3, 1943. The based was a highly successful RCAF flying training facility until the RCAF ceased training in April 14, 1945. The Vulcan RCAF Station is further valued for its high level of original buildings remaining at the site. The aerodrome consisted originally of seven massive double-bay metal hangars, a triangular grid of runways and several support buildings. The hangers accommodated and stored several varieties of planes including Cessnas, Cornells, Cranes, Fawns, Finches, Harvards, Oxfords, Tiger Moths and Ansons for use in the school. The RCAF Station aerodrome was designed in a triangular plan, with a triangular grid of airstrips and seven large double-bay hangers built 68 R CAF S tation Vul c an on the northwest side of the property. Six of the seven original metal hangers are presently located at the site. The six nearly identical hanger buildings feature vernacular industrial design as expressed through its rectangular plans, exposed wood beam structural systems and massive banked multipane sash windows to allow natural light to filter into the buildings. The design of the Vulcan RCAF Station buildings exemplify a regimented functionality and the emerging modernistic styles of the 1940s, reflecting the abandonment of traditional architectural motifs and a reliance on pure form and unadorned surfaces. After the end of the War, the airbase was turned over to the provincial government and for a short time became an Industrial Airport for Vulcan. Character-Defining Elements The key elements that define the heritage character of the Vulcan RCAF Station site include its: • location on the south side of Township Road 162 and east of Range Road 154; • triangular plan of RCAF Station aerodrome including triangular arrangement of airstrips; • original elements of the 6 hangers such as: rectangular one-storey plan; wooden space frame beam structural system; exterior asbestos cladding; banked and fixed multipane windows on each side of the hangers; and • additional outbuildings and commemorative plaques. Interior of one of the hangers at the airbase Historic aerial image of the RCAF Station Vulcan. Taken sometime between 1942- 45 (Vulcanairbase.com) 69 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY a HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 ck now ledgme nts The project team for the Vulcan County Heritage Survey & Inventory project consists of Donald Luxton, Principal of Donald Luxton & Associates, Laura Pasacreta, Associate and Project Director, Samuel Boisvert, Research Assistant / Graphics, Sandi Ratch, Senior Researcher, and our writing team; Megan Faulkner, Penny Robertson, and RJ McCulloch. We would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance and direction provided by Leslie Warren, Economic Development Officer, Vulcan Business Development Society. We would also like to thank the following individuals for their assistance and advice: Vulcan County Staff, Rick Mah, Director of Corporate Services and Liza Dawber, Vulcan County Grants Specialist; Vulcan Business Development Society Staff, Cody Shearer, Economic Development Assistant, and Cassie Reece, Administrative Assistant; and the Heritage Advisory Board members Wally Sholdice, Katie Walker, Amy Rupp, Kym Nichols, Racille Ellis, Marj Weber, Paul Taylor, Bill Roebuck, Bill Lahd, Richard Lambert, and Marvin Maronda. We would further like to thank the invaluable contribution from Vulcan County, the Town of Vulcan, the Village of Carmangay, the Village of Champion and the Village of Milo as well as support from the Municipal Heritage Partnership Program. 70 71 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2 VULCAN COUNTY s HERITAGE SURVEY & INVENTORY 2012 ource s Aldred, N.J. 2011. More Than Just the Mail: Vulcan County’s Pioneer Post Offices. Graphcom Printers, Lethbridge. Jackson, Jr., Lionel and Michael C. Wilson. 2004 The Ice- Free Corridor Revisited. www.Geotimes.org (accessed December 2011). Byfield, Ted. 1998 Fury and Futility: The Onset of the Great Depression 1930 -1935. Alber ta in the 20th Century, Volume 6. United Western Communications Ltd., Edmonton. Arrowwood- Mossleigh Historical Society (AMHS). 1982. Furrows of Time: A History of Arrowwood, Shouldice, Mossleigh and Farrow 1883-1982. Nor thwest Printing and Lithographing Ltd. Calgary, Alber ta, Canada. Carmangay and District Home and School Association (C&D). 1968. Bridging the Years: Carmangay and District. Southern Printing Company, Ltd. Lethbridge, Alber ta, Canada. Freeman, Gordon. 2009. Canada’s Stonehenge: Astounding Archaeological Discoveries in Canada, England, and Wales. Kingsley Publishing, Cochrane, Alber ta, Canada. Milo and District Historical Society (MDHS). 1999. Snake Valley II: A History of Lake McGregor and Area. Friesens Corporation, Altona, Manitoba, Canada. Milo Archives. N/D. The archives in Milo – in the downstairs of the Library building – has a binder with some good information in it. Unknown date and author. Voisey, Paul. 1988. Vulcan: the Making of a Prairie Community. University of Toronto Press. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Vulcan & District Historical Society (VDHS). 1973. Wheat Country: A History of Vulcan and District. D.W. Friesen & Sons Ltd. Calgary, Alber ta, Canada. 1988. Wheat Country II: A History of Vulcan and District. Friesen Printers, Calgary, Alber ta w e b site s • www.blackfootcrossing.ca/aboutus.html • www.bombercommmandmuseum.ca/bcatpvulcan.html • www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/post- offices • www.doukhobor.org/Cemetery- Krasivaya- Dolina.htm • http://www.facebook.com/pages/ VulcanAlber ta/114382198578114 • www.heritagepark.ca/pdf/HP- Map-2011_ Large.pdf • maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=&q=Majorville+Alber ta&gs_upl=0l0l0l82l0l0l0l0l0l0l0l0ll0l0&um=1&ie=UTF- 8&hq=&hnear = 0x53726e0144389d0b:0xf85d62e37d9a2e5,Majorville,+AB,+Canada&ei=tLOpToKQDOioiQKeoKmECw&sa=X&oi=geocode_resu lt&ct=title&resnum=2&ved=0CCIQ8gEwAQ • maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&rlz=&q=Mossleigh,+Alber ta&gs_upl=139l875l0l1078l7l5l0l0l0l0l212l212l21l1l0&um=1&ie=UTF- 8&hq=&hnear =0x537223cd503e20e5:0x82bd76f1de433b52,Mossleigh,+AB,+Canada&ei=Qu2qTu6MDo qwiQKlosD3Cg&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBoQ8gEwA A\ • maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Pageant+Alber ta&gs_upl=3402l6176l0l7084l15l13l0l0l0l0l475l3599l25.4.2l11l0&bav=on.2,or.r_ gc.r_ pw.,cf.osb&biw=817&bih=857&wrapid=tlif131981253349610&um=1&ie=UTF- 8&hq=&hnear =0x53 720bdc59ea5d31:0x56bda4620f03efb7,Pageant,+AB,+Canada&ei=u72qTtamC6j-iQKcj8GACw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=titl e&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ8gEwAA 72 • www.megalithic.co.uk /ar ticle.php?sid=22751 • www.royalalber tamuseum.ca/human/archaeo/aspects/timeline.htm • www.vulcantourism.com/arrowgroup/community-information-the-village- of-carmangay-alber ta.html • www.vulcantourism.com/arrowgroup/community-information-the-village- of-champion.html • www.vulcantourism.com/arrowgroup/community-information-the-village- of-milo.html • http://www.vulcantourism.com/spock- days- galaxyfest-vulcan-alber tas-annual-community-wide-star-trek-festival.html • wiki.worldflicks.org/brant,_alber ta,_canada.html • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastasia,_ Alber ta • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_villages_in_ Alber ta#C • en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCAF_Station_Vulcan • www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2FaFBhOaT0 73 F I N AL R EPOR T | M arch 2 01 2
