Heritage Homes and Churches

Construction of a Holy Cross Catholic Church was started near the original fort site in 1889 but with relocation of the townsite to the south side of the river, the beautifully preserved existing structure was completed 1898. The church is apsidal in plan and occupies a large open lot on a prominent corner. The interior of the church has changed from its original appearance due to several alterations. At one time, the interior was completely covered with white canvas by a new, young priest, who then painted the canvas with biblical scenes.
At a later date, another priest painted the entire canvas sky blue. That remained for a few years before the canvas was taken down. The original wood has remained in good condition and was restored by the parishioners in 1973-74. The altar and sanctuary walls, which in similar churches were often made of marble, are constructed of wood in the Fort Macleod church. The organist and choir were once situated in the balcony.

This house is one of the oldest known residences in Fort Macleod. It was built in 1896 for the Ryan family replacing the original home which burned down earlier that year. The original home was built to the northeast of the present town in 1880 near the original Fort site. It was moved to its present location on 26th Street when the Fort was relocated to the Barracks site situated on the west side of town.
The structure is typical of the construction techniques used by early settlers during the uncertain and difficult times of Fort Macleod’s early development. It is typically small, built to withstand the elements which it has done for over 120 years! The Ryan Residence is a single storey, wood-frame residential building constructed on a concrete foundation. It was built by local contractors Bartley & Wilmot for $600. The exterior walls are finished with drop siding and the high gable roof is covered with asphalt shingles. The shed roof extension at the rear expands the living space. The house remains in very good condition and has changed little except for the enclosed front veranda which was expanded to each side. The roof of the original porch can still be seen at the centre of the front façade.

The Young residence, built in 1912, is a two-and-one-half storey residence located on an expansive corner lot with impressive stature, dominant red brick construction with corbeled brick chimney stands out as one of the grander homes in Fort Macleod.
The Young Residence is an excellent example of the Edwardian Foursquare architectural style. This was a uniquely North American housing style that emerged out of the Chicago School of Architecture, flourishing between 1900 and 1920. These homes are noted by their square footprint, with equal internal division of four rooms upstairs and four rooms down. The hipped roof with gabled dormers to the south, east, and north elevations, open veranda and overhanging eaves are all elements of the Foursquare style that allow the Young Residence to convey its architectural significance. Distinct and elaborate features of the Young Residence include its grandiose size which covers three lots, large corbelled chimney, below ground attached garage and large, open veranda supported by columns.

The preservation of the original architectural elements allows the Whipple Residence to convey its value as an example of Dutch Colonial Revival architecture.
The Whipple Residence is a two-storey home, identifiable by its rectangular footprint, front-facing, bell-cast gambrel roof with projecting eaves, as well as its asymmetrical façade with a recessed entryway and bay windows at the front. It has a concrete foundation with wood-frame structure and interlocking panel construction. It is clad with wood shiplap siding painted white at the ground level and natural coloured wood shingles at the second level. Typically, there are one-over-one single hung windows with multi-light storm windows at ground level. Other features include hipped dormers at the east and west elevations. This house is setback a good distance from the street with a spacious lawn to the front and east of it. Additionally, there is a red brick corbeled chimney.

This house was constructed in 1905 as accommodation for the managers of The Union Bank which first opened in Fort Macleod three years prior. It is one of many buildings constructed by local contractor, J.S. Lambert. The house has a nailed wood-frame structure covered with coursed rubble and broken course cut stone. The roof is an intersecting gable covered with wood shingles and the three gable ends are finished with bevelled siding. The front elevation features a shed dormer and two large windows have been installed adjacent to the main entrance on the same elevation. These windows came from the Reach and Company Store on Main Street when new windows were purchased for the redesigned front elevation of the store. Other ornamental features include the sandstone sills and lintels of the main storey windows and the corbelled brick chimney. The original hardwood floors in the interior have been retained.¹

Fort Macleod’s Christ Church is the second oldest Anglican church building in all of Alberta which is still operating. In 1878, The Rev. Canon George Mackay, who went on to become the archdeacon of Alberta, came to Fort Macleod from England in 1885 to open a mission, minister to the local Anglicans, and help establish the parish we know as Christ Church. In 1886 the original church burned to the ground. (“Some local bootleggers had all their hootch under the church and it exploded,” Frank Eden said.) Rev Canon Ronald Hilton in 1886 oversaw construction of a new church, which was completed in 1887. In 1890 a bell, donated by the Ladies Aid Society, served the church and doubled as a fire alarm and as an alert for lost children. This Society also donated the present pulpit with its hand-carved inlays December 4, 1904. The Parish Hall was added in 1912.

Built in 1911, the Henderson Residence is valued for its unique eclectic design with its red brick construction on a stone foundation, symmetrical façade and rough-cut sandstone sills and lintels along the window openings. It has a unique gable-on-hip roof with a cross-gabled dormer centred on the front (south) elevation. Additional details include its corbelled red brick chimneys and an original, detached garage at the rear of the residence.

Built in 1908, for Jack Price (former owner of the American Hotel) at a cost of $1,200, the Price Residence is identifiable by its distinct construction material - rock face concrete block construction. The house has a low-pitched hipped roof, and a cross-gabled dormer centred in the front (north) elevation. Other features of the home include a full-width, enclosed veranda off the north elevation and wooden-framed detached garage with saltbox roof at the rear (south) of the residence.

Easter morning, 1890, Presbyterian families held their first service in their new church located on 23rd street, 2nd avenue (not this location). In the early 1930s the last original building from the North-West Mounted Police barracks was moved to this bare site on 20th street to be used as a church hall. In approximately 2010 that building was moved back to the restored barracks site and can be viewed there. In 1943, under the chairmanship of John (Jack) Swinarton, a new sanctuary was added to this location with the needed heavy timbers donated by Swinarton from the recently demolished Empire Hotel which he owned.¹

The McNeill Residence is one of the community’s most attractive historic properties. It is located on a large, northeast corner lot in Fort Macleod’s historic residential neighbourhood south of the historic downtown core. It is identifiable by its red brick running bond construction on a stone foundation, impressive stature, mansard roof with gabled dormer in the south elevation, side-gabled extension at the rear, sandstone sills and lintels at each window, and a wrap-around open veranda at the south and east elevations. The top of the roof was once a widow’s walk with a wrought iron railing. Other features include two red brick chimneys. A large yard to the east of the residence is enclosed by a short sandstone capped brick wall.

Set within a spacious yard the one-and-one-half storey Campbell Residence, built circa 1903, is the only example of the Second Empire architectural style in Fort Macleod. The defining architectural elements of this style include its bellcast mansard roof with gabled dormers, second story arched windows, prominent hexagonal turret, with conical peak off the northwest corner, wooden drop siding, and the half-width open veranda off the front (north) entrance with detailed spindle-work in the dormer vergeboards and veranda brackets. The wood shake shingles with courses of varying pattern is another unique feature of this house. This ornate and impressive house had the distinction of being the first in town to install indoor plumbing! Of note is the original detached wood frame stable building with gabled dormer that remains at the southeast side of the yard.

The Swinarton Residence, built in 1947, is a one-and-one-half storey residential building identifiable by its stucco and wooden shake cladding, high-pitched, cross-gabled roof, prominent external stone chimney with a large, wrought-iron ‘S’ fixture in north elevation and stone arcaded wing wall. Additional features include a short, wrought-iron fence with a large “S” on the front gate. It is an excellent example of the Tudor architectural style which draws from a variety of English traditions including early cottage designs to the Renaissance era, combined with American craftsman influences.
The style was at its height in North America between 1890 and 1940, when it was supplanted by modern styles following the Second World War. In Alberta, Tudor-style reached its peak of popularity between the 1920s to 1940s. The style is recognizable by asymmetrical plans and high-pitched, cross-gabled roofs with catslide archways. Other Tudor features found in the Swinarton Residence include its mixed cladding of stucco and wooden shakes, prominent external stone chimney in the north elevation and wrought-iron detailing. The preservation of these original architectural elements allows the Swinarton Residence to convey its Tudor heritage.¹

Built circa 1912, the Dickson Residence is a refined example of the Edwardian Foursquare style (as is also the house just across the street). This style was developed in Chicago by a group of architects including Frank Lloyd Wright. The style spread throughout North America between 1900 and 1920 as it was a “catalogue house” shipped by rail as a package, with many vernacular variants. With its square plan, the Foursquare form provided an efficient use of space with four rooms upstairs and four downstairs. Like many Foursquare homes, the Dickson residence features a hipped roof and prominent central dormer with a full-width open veranda on the main elevation. The preservation of the building’s original architectural elements allows it to communicate its value as an excellent example of the Edwardian Foursquare style.¹

The McCrea Residence originally built in 1909 by Robert McCrea is a rare example of Dutch Colonial Revival architecture in Fort Macleod. This two-storey wood frame home is identifiable by a gambrel roof with large gabled wall dormers on the east and west elevations. It has a narrow two storey gambrel extension at the rear. It also features wood lapped siding at the main floor with wood shingle siding above. There are multi-pane three-bay windows at the front (north) and east main floor elevations.

The Matthews Residence, built in 1899, is a one-and-one-half storey house located in Fort Macleod’s historic residential neighbourhood. Located mid-block on a large lot on the south side of 17th Street between 3rd and 4th Avenues.
The Matthews Residence is a good example of late Victorian-style architecture, defined by the use of highly decorative style elements contrasted with simple brick cladding. The late Victorian elements expressed by the Matthews Residence include its cross-gabled, high-pitched roof, paired gables in the front elevation, deep overhanging eaves with decorative bargeboards, two corbeled brick chimneys, and the building’s cottage-like charm. There is a single-storey enclosed wood framed porch with plenty of windows along the east elevation. The preservation of the original materials in their original configuration allows the Matthews Residence to convey its architectural value. The residence evolved with the growing Matthews family, with the turret addition at the northeast corner constructed in 1909 as a nursery. When the Matthews family left Macleod in the 1920s and after multiple owners, in 1954 for the sum of $9,000.00, the house became the rectory for the Anglican church. It has since become a private family home.¹

The Patterson Residence is a one-and-one-half storey home built in 1897 by local builder, Joe Marlow, identifiable by its red brick running bond construction, truncated hipped roof, gambrel wall dormers in the front (south) and west elevations and one-over-one, single-hung windows with wooden storms. Other elements include a single-storey hipped-roof extension along the east elevation with gambrel dormer, a wrap-around open veranda, a non-historic gabled addition off the rear (north) elevation, and a large yard that once included a tennis court to the east of the residence. Except for a discreet addition to the rear of the building, the Patterson Residence remains largely intact, providing a direct link to Patterson and his impact on Fort Macleod throughout his political career.

The McKenzie Residence built in 1903 by Maclachlan & Lambert (well known local contractors), is valued for its association with local lawyer and politician, Malcolm McKenzie (1863-1913). This eight room one-and-one-half-storey house is valued for its Queen Anne style, a sub style of the Victorian period. The architectural elements of the McKenzie Residence that express its Queen Anne influence include its prominent front gabled roof with wide overhanging eaves with decorative braces and modillions, open front porch with tapered, turned columns supporting a second-floor balcony, and the triple assembly Palladian style window in the gable peak.