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Rylands' House
Lethbridge
Other Names:
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Croskery Residence
Rylands' Residence
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Statement of Significance
Description of Historic Place
The Rylands' Residence is a storey and a half dwelling with a hipped roof and gabled projections, built in 1912. The original property included the adjacent lot which is now 1206-6 Avenue South. The home is located on a residential street in the city of Lethbridge and occupies 2 city lots. It has remained in the Rylands family since it was built.
Heritage Value
The Rylands' Residence is significant due to its association with Edwin Ulysses Rylands who was one of the first entrepreneurs in Lethbridge.
Edwin Ulysses Rylands came to Lethbridge from Yorkton, Saskatchewan where he was the Hudson Bay Store Manager. In 1904 he moved to Lethbridge to manage its Hudson Bay Store located on the corner of 5th Street & 1st Avenue South. In 1911 he bought his own store located at the southwest corner of 5th Street & 3rd Avenue South (the former Cavanah Store). It was known as Rylands and Company and sold dry goods and ladies' wear. Rylands retired in 1951 and sold the business to Herbert Wilks (later Wilks & Crouston).
Architect James Allen Macdonald designed the Rylands' home in 1912. Edwin U. Rylands along with his first wife Annie and their first child Agnes (later son Donald arrived) moved into the home in 1912. In 1923 Annie passed away. Edwin met Reuby Alice Philbrick and they married in Quebec in 1927. The home was expanded that year with the addition of two bedrooms and a screened-in porch. They had one child, Joan, who was born in 1929 at the Van Haarlem Hospital. The family used the large side yard for lawn bowling and croquet and other family games.
Edwin was a long standing member of the Board of Trade, President of the Lethbridge Retailers Association, elder in Southminster United Church and Knox Church and was a charter member of the Downtown Kiwanis Club. In the 1930s he started a farmers' market that provided local farmers a place to sell goods from their Bay location. He also contributed to Father Lacombe's missions. When the C.P.R. High Level Bridge was officially opened in 1909, Rylands, as a member of the Board of Trade, was invited to be one of the first travelers to cross the bridge. He passed away in 1956.
Reuby Rylands was a member of the Dr. Mewburn chapter of the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (I.O.D.E), member of the Women's Auxiliary and Women's Missionary Society of Southminster United Church, member of Mathesis Club, and active worker in the Canadian Red Cross during the Second World War.
Joan married Bob Croskery in 1958 and moved to Toronto in 1966 while Reuby continued to live in the family home. Reuby moved to Toronto to live with Bob & Joan in 1979 and the house was rented for 6 years. Reuby passed away in 1981 and Bob & Joan returned to Lethbridge in 1985. They renovated the home completely that year and changed the two-car garage to an art studio for Bob. The architect was Stuart Johnstone. They continue to occupy the home, making the home significant as it has remained within the family since it was built.
Character-Defining Elements
The character defining elements of the Rylands' House include, but are not limited to, its:
- Overall form, scale and massing;
- bellcast roof and dormer;
- front enclosed verandah; and
- original exterior wood trim and panels.
Location
| Street Address: |
609 - 12 Street South |
| Community: |
Lethbridge |
| Boundaries: |
Lot 22, Block E, Plan 9612133 |
| Contributing Resources: |
Building: 1
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ATS Legal Description:
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Mer |
Rge |
Twp |
Sec |
LSD |
4
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21
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8
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31
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09
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PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):
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Plan |
Block |
Lot |
Parcel |
9612133
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E
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22
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Latitude/Longitude:
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Latitude |
Longitude |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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49.6909059 |
-112.8243263 |
GPS |
NAD83 |
UTM Reference:
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Northing |
Easting |
Zone |
CDT |
Datum Type |
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5505862 |
368423 |
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GPS |
NAD83 |
Recognition
| Recognition Authority: |
Local Governments (AB) |
| Designation Status: |
Municipal Historic Resource |
| Date of Designation: |
2012/10/15 |
Historical Information
| Built: |
1912/01/01 |
| Period of Significance: |
1912 to 1956 |
| Theme(s): |
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| Historic Function(s): |
Residence : Single Dwelling
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| Current Function(s): |
Residence : Single Dwelling
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| Architect: |
James Allen Macdonald
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| Builder: |
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| Context: |
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Additional Information
| Object Number: |
4664-0351 |
| Designation File: |
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| Related Listing(s): |
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| Heritage Survey File: |
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| Website Link: |
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| Data Source: |
Planning & Development Services
City Hall, 910 - 4 Avenue S
Lethbridge, AB, T1JOP6 |
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