Key Number:	HS 32202
Site Name:	Bergstrom Residence
Other Names:
Site Type:	0101 - Residential: Single Dwelling

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			46	24	4

Address:	4714 - 48 Avenue
Number:	14
Street:	47
Avenue:	48
Other:
Town:	Wetaskiwin
Near Town:

Media

Type	Number	Date	View	Source

Architectural

Style:	Queen Anne Revival
Plan Shape:	L
Storeys:	Storeys: 1 1/2
Foundation:	Basement/Foundation Wall Material: Concrete
Superstructure:	Nailed Frame
Superstructure Cover:
Roof Structure:	Medium Gable
Roof Cover:
Exterior Codes:	Massing of Units: Single Detached Wings: Unknown Wall Design and Detail: None Roof Trim - Eaves: Projecting Eaves Roof Trim - Eaves: Moulded Fascia Roof Trim - Eaves: Plain Soffit Roof Trim Material - Eaves: Wood Roof Trim - Verges: Projecting Verges Roof Trim - Verges: Plain Fascia Roof Trim - Verges: Plain Soffit Roof Trim Material - Verges: Wood Towers, Steeples and Domes: None Dormer Type: Gable, Pediment Chimney Location - Side to Side: Offset Left Chimney Location - Front to Rear: Offset Rear Chimney Stack Material: Brick Chimney Stack Massing: Single Roof Trim - Special Features: None Window - Structural Opening Shape: Flat Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Head: None Window - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Sides: None Window - Sill Type: None Window - Trim Within Structural Opening - Head: Plain Window - Trim Within Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Window - Number of Sashes: One Window - Opening Mechanism: Fixed Window - Special Types: None Window - Pane Arrangements: Other Main Entrance - Location: Off-Centre (Facade) Main Entrance - Structural Opening Shape: Flat Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Head: Plain Flat Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Main Entrance - Trim Outside Structural Opening Material: Wood Main Entrance - Trim Within Structural Opening - Head: Plain Main Entrance - Trim Within Structural Opening - Sides: Plain Main Entrance - Number of Leaves: 1 Main Entrance - Number of Panels Per Leaf: 1 Main Entrance - Leaves - Special Feature: Glass Main Stairs - Location and Design: None Main Porch - Height: First Storey
Exterior:	Gable dormers, exterior fireplace chimney, enclosed rear porch, pent extension. The main portion of the house has been constructed in the shape of an L. The covered porch on the North facade and the verandah on the west facade contribute further to its irregular shape.
Interior:	N/A
Environment:	The Bergstrom Residence is a 1 1/2 storey stucco structure which occupies a portion of one urban lot in the City of Wetaskiwin. No other historic buildings occupy the site. It is located in a residential area south of the 1907 Court House. The landscaping of the site which appears to be of a recent vintage consists of a lawn to which has been added a small hedge along the front of the property as well as various shrubs and at least two large trees both of which are located to the rear of the property.
Condition:	Structure: Good. Repair: Good. 19 SEP 1977. The overall condition of the house is very good. The building exhibits a high degree of craftsmanship in its construction. (Feb. 1988)
Alterations:	The historical integrity of the building has been altered by the addition of a porch in the 1930s and the covering of the original clapboard siding by stucco between 1949 and 1951.

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Constructed Porch added Stucco added over original clapboard	1907/01/01 1930/01/01 1950/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
Residence	1907/01/01
Owner:	Owner Date:
Town trustees J.E. Johnson Carl Wagner John Bleiler Frances C. Bowers and Charles Deland Youngs Edward Bye Herbert Anderson Ernest and Ethel Pearson Hugo Bergstrom Annie Margaret Bergstorm. Robert and Phyllis Botham Derryl Teows and Karen Toews	1906/01/01 1907/01/01 1910/01/01 1914/01/01 1917/01/01 1919/01/01 1923/01/01 1954/01/01 1959/01/01 1974/01/01 1977/01/01 1985/04/30

Architect:	N/A
Builder:	N/A
Craftsman:	N/A
History:	Historical Significance: Wetaskiwin was established as a townsite by the Calgary and Edmonton Railway Company in 1891. Growth of the townsite remained relatively slow throughout the early 1890s. With the rapid expansion of the settlement process between 1896 and 1914, agricultural service centres like Wetaskiwin grew in a corresponding manner. The Bergstrom residence was constructed in 1907 during sometime of a building boom, and was subsequently occupied by a succession of Wetaskiwin artisans and business people. The first resident of this house was Johan Edward Johnson, a Wetaskiwin painter who purchased the lot in July 1907. Karl Wagner, a farmer from Forget, Saskatchewan, and his wife Marie owned the house from 1909 until 1912, when Christian Bleiler became owner. The Bleiler family was known in Wetaskiwin largely through the activities of John Bleiler, an insurance agent who prospected the Buck Lake area with Lou Hanna that year. George Bleiler was a substitute on the Wetaskiwin Rugby team during the years that it was Central Alberta champion in 1932-33. Christian Bleiler was an insurance agent as well. In April 1917 two Americans assumed the mortgage. Frances C. Bowers, a 'spinster' from Baltimore, and Charles Deland Youngs, a farmer from Port Orchard, Washington, retained owenership until 14 February 1918, when it reverted to the City of Wetaskiwin and the Merchants Bank of Canada due to nonpayment of taxes and mortgage default. In November 1919 the house was purchased by Edward Bye, who occupied the residence for the longest period of time. Bye started work for the C.P.R. in 1898 as a section man, worked his way up to section foreman, and finally roadmaster in 1913, a position he retained until his retirement in 1940. He moved out four years later, selling to Herbert Anderson. Herbert C. Anderson was perhaps the best known resident. In 1932 he graduated B.Ph., was awarded the Alberta Pharmaceutical Association Gold Medal, and became a pharmacist at Northern Drug Store. Five years later he left to operate Driard Pharmacy in the Driard Block, which he did until 1950. Anderson then bought an interest in Pahal's Wetaskiwin Sales and Service, where he became business manager. As a trustee of S.D. No. 264 he was influential in raising a loan to turn the Canadian Army Basic Training Centre hospital into a ten-room high school, which opened in 1948. He became school board chairman during the early 1950s. However, perhaps Anderson is still best remembered as the manufacturer and distributor of his own patented cold cure, 'Twin drops'. In December 1954 Ernest and Ethel Pearson became owners of the house. Pearson was a local mechanic who had farmed most of his life on SE 15/146/23/W4. Born in August 1912 at Meeting Creek, his family moved to the Weiler district in 1918, where he farmed and worked at custom threshing during the 1930s. From 1937 until 1946 he was Secretary of the newly formed Co-op Refineries located at 49th Avenue and 49th Street in Wetaskiwin. He travelled the country selling shares for ten dollars each. In November 1952 he sold his farm and moved to Wetaskiwin, working as parts manager at Pahal's Motors. Perhaps he met Anderson, the previous owner, at Pahal's, for he purchased the house two years later. Hugo Bergstrom, a local farmer, purchased the house in April 1959, and in December 1974 it became the property of Annie Margaret Bergstrom. Three years later Robert and Phyllis Botham assumed ownership, and in June 1982 James and Karen Toone replaced them. Derryl and Karen Toews, the current owners, took possession in April 1985. The historical significance of the Bergstrom residence is therefore associated with the early growth of Wetaskiwin, but not in connection with any prominent original owner or event. In later years, occupants like Bye and Anderson maintained locally significant profiles, but in general the occupants represented the mainstream of Wetaskiwin development. Architectural Significance: The Preliminary assessment of this building had postulated that the 'present appearance of the building represents an example of the Edwardian English Cottage style or the Lutyenesque Domestic which has been developed for its original appearance as a wooden version of a mid-Victorian home'. Edward Lutyens was an outstanding British architect of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries whose accomplishments included the government buildings at the new Indian capital of New Delhi. A more detailed review of this building does not support this interpretation. Given the total lack of architectural information on this building with repsect to who built or designed it, or who was responsible for its modification, the appearance alone does not justify a clear connection to housing designed by Lutyens. The only architectural comment which can be made on the basis of appearance alone is that it reflects the influence of the Queen Anne Style in its irregular roof line and verandah, popular approaches in Alberta before World War I. * * * Draft Press Release Edmonton, Alberta The Honourable Greg Stevens, Minister of Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism, announced today that the Bergstrom Residence at Wetaskiwin has been designated a Registered Historic Resource. The Bergstrom Residence in Wetaskiwin was constructed in 1907, as part of the rapid expansion of the new service centre for a rapidly expanding agricultural frontier. Throughout its history, it has been occupied by a succession of Wetaskiwin artisans and business people, of whom the best known was Herbert C. Anderson. When he graduated from the University of Alberta in 1932, Anderson also received the Alberta Pharmaceutical Assocation Gold Medal. He took a position as pharmacist at Wetaskiwin's Northern Drug Store, but left five years later to operate Driard Pharmacy in the Driard Block until 1950. Anderson then bought an interest in Pahal's Wetaskiwin Sales and Service, where he became business manager. As a trustee of School Dsitrict No. 264, he was influential in raising a loan to turn the Canadian Army Basic Training Centre hospital into a ten-room high school, which opened in 1948. He became school board chairman during the early 1950s. Anderson may still be best remembered, however, as the manufacturer and distributor of his own patented cold cure, 'Twin Drops'. The historical significance of the Bergstrom residence is therefore associated with the early growth of Wetaskiwin, though not in connection with any prominent original owner or event. In later years, occupants like Anderson maintained locally significant profiles in the mainstream of Wetaskiwin development. Architecturally, several features of the building, like its irregular roof line and verandah, reflect the influence of the Queen Anne Style popular in Alberta before World War One.

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:

Register:

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places: