Conybeare Residence

Lethbridge

Street Address:	422 - 6 Avenue South
Community:	Lethbridge
Boundaries:	Lot 14, Block A, Plan 1410321
Contributing Resources:	Buildings: 1

ATS Legal Description:

Mer	Rge	Twp	Sec	LSD
4	21	9	6	6 (ptn.)

PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):

Plan	Block	Lot	Parcel
1410321	A	14

Latitude/Longitude:

Latitude	Longitude	CDT	Datum Type
49.690546	-112.840065

UTM Reference:

Northing	Easting	Zone	CDT	Datum Type
5505865	367293		Digital Maps	NAD 83

Recognition

Recognition Authority:	Province of Alberta
Designation Status:	Provincial Historic Resource
Date of Designation:	2002/05/03

Historical Information

Built:	1890 to 1890
Period of Significance:	1894 to 1903
Theme(s):	Peopling the Land : Settlement
Historic Function(s):	Commerce / Commercial Services : Shop or Wholesale Establishment Religion, Ritual and Funeral : Religious Facility or Place of Worship Residence : Single Dwelling
Current Function(s):	Residence : Single Dwelling
Architect:
Builder:
Context:	HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE In the early 1880s, the Canadian High Commissioner in London, Alexander Galt, assembled a closely knit group of British and Canadian investors into a company to develop the vast coal deposits along the Oldman River. A company called the North West Coal & Navigation Co. was incorporated and mining activity begun. As the mine was a considerable distance south from where the Canadian Pacific Railway had recently extended its line past Fort Calgary, the North West Coal & Navigation Co. decided to build its own railway straight east from Medicine Hat to the mine site. At the site, the thriving community of Lethbridge was soon begun on Company property. In 1885, the Company subdivided lots in the community and registered it as a townsite. By 1890, the community was sufficiently large to be incorporated as the Town of Lethbridge with over 400 people. The town would continue to grow and become a city in 1906 with over 2,000 people. Among the lots sub-divided by the Company, one of the choicest was located at the east end of Courtland Street (now 422 - 6 Avenue South) overlooking, at a distance, the Oldman River. In 1889, this lot was purchased by Company lawyer Charles F. Conybeare, then one of the leading citizens of Lethbridge. Title passed in 1892 to his wife, Ida, who, in 1894, sold it to Charles A. Magrath, then probably the most prominent citizen in Lethbridge. A close friend of Alexander Galt's son, Elliott, Magrath had served as the Land Commissioner of the North West Coal & Navigation Co. In this capacity, he had undertaken the survey and subdivision of Lethbridge in 1885. He also became the first president of the Lethbridge Board of Trade, and, in 1890, the first Mayor of Lethbridge. He would go on represent the district for a while in the North West Territorial Assembly, and, from 1908 to 1911, serve as the Conservative Member of Parliament for the federal riding of Medicine Hat (which then included Lethbridge). When Magrath sold his Courtland Street property in 1898, it was to another Galt employee and prominent citizen, Henry James Tennant, then a fireman with the North West Coal & Navigation Co. In 1903, Tennant sold his Lethbridge home and moved to Coutts to take up ranching and eventually become a police magistrate. He would run unsuccessfully for a seat in the Alberta Legislative Assembly for the riding of Warner in 1917 as a Conservative. At some point during the ownership of either Magrath or Tennant, an ornate dwelling with mansard roof and detailed brickwork was constructed on 422 Courtland Street. It was, no doubt, regarded at the time as an elegant addition to the community, and would have been the venue of much upper class socializing. In 1903, Tennant sold the property to Agnes Westfall, who retained possession until 1907. Several other people would occupy the dwelling over the next several years, until, in 1918, it was acquired by Peter Naismith, who converted it into the Beth Isreal Synagogue. At the time, the community around the property contained a large number of Jewish residents. The old Tennant House would serve as a synagogue until 1940, when a new and larger synagogue was built. Upon this move, the Tennant House, which had already undergone several major alterations, was made over into a community grocery store called Regal Grocery. It is as the Regal Grocery that most residents of Lethbridge remember the building, for it would serve as a grocery and, later, as a confectionery until 1988. The historical significance of the Conybeare Residence lies, to an extent, in its service as a familiar community grocery and confectionery during the middle and latter part of the last century. It also has some significance in its use as a Jewish synagogue between 1918 and 1940, although it had not been designed for religious purposes. Its greatest significance is probably in its association with certain of the leading public figures of Lethbridge around the turn of the last century. Although, with extensive renovations over the years, there is little about it to remind people of its role as an upper class dwelling, aside from the mansard roof and certain brickwork. The year of construction of the building has not been determined. It may have been built for and occupied by Charles Magrath who owned the property between 1894 and 1898. However, its identification by people in Lethbridge as 'the Tennant House' would suggest that it might have been built during Henry Tennant's ownership between 1898 and 1903. Many people felt that Magrath occupied the property after Tennant, but Land Titles records verify otherwise. The Lethbridge City Archivist is still trying to determine the date of construction.

Additional Information

Object Number:	4665-0795
Designation File:	DES 1264
Related Listing(s):
Heritage Survey File:	HS 50260
Website Link:
Data Source:	Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch, Old St. Stephen's College, 8820 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P8 (File: Des. 1264)