Key Number:	HS 24642
Site Name:	Dickson Store and Site
Other Names:
Site Type:	0412 - Mercantile/Commercial: General Retail Store

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			36	3	5

Address:	RR 1 Innisfail
Number:	N/A
Street:	N/A
Avenue:	N/A
Other:
Town:	Dickson
Near Town:

Media

Type	Number	Date	View	Source

Architectural

Style:
Plan Shape:	L
Storeys:	Storeys: 2
Foundation:	Basement/Foundation Wall Material: Concrete
Superstructure:
Superstructure Cover:
Roof Structure:	High Gable
Roof Cover:
Exterior Codes:	Main Entrance - Location: Corner Main Porch - Type: Recess
Exterior:	Roofing is wood shingles. There is no particular architectural style for this building; it is a rectangular in plan with an ordinary gable roof. An inset entrance door, framed by display windows, is on the southwest corner of the building and dominates the main facade. The building did not originally have a foundation, but was mounted on sandstone blocks. In 1943 a concrete basement was constructed and exterior stair to the basement was installed. The building is a wood frame structure clad with drop siding. The interior walls were finished in 1 x 6 shiplap, with 1 x 4 tongue-and-groove on the ceiling originally. In 1911 an one-storey addition was put on the rear of the building, and in 1919 a two-storey addition again expanded the rear changing the buiding to and 'L' shape.
Interior:	N/A
Environment:	Set on corner of street next to meat packing plant (abandoned also) on east, small parking lot on north. As a 'corner store', this building is in fact situated at the main crossroads of the hamlet of Dickson. It has always been visible from a distance down the road and is a conspicuous structure to the local residents, an important local landmark.
Condition:	Structure: Good. 20 JUL 1982. The existing concrete foundaiton is in poor condition and does not conform to current building standards. The superstructure is in generally acceptable condition, although all of the floor and roof framing would have to be upgraded to meet modern loading requirements. The building's exterior finishes appear to be in poor condition, having suffered extensive weathering and ageing. The interior has gone through some modifications in the past, but the original material appears to be in fair to good condition. The building's service systems, such as electrical and plumbing, would need upgrading.
Alterations:	1919 - Extensive northern addition made. The structure has undergone several expansions, but such changes are considered part of the development of the store, and thus reflect its history. Apart from the interior refinishing, probably done in the fifties, there have been virtually no other alterations to the building. It is estimated that the exterior exhibits 100% of its original integrity and the interior retains 85% of its original fabrication.

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Constructed Large storage annex added to rear Extensive northern addition made Post office enlarged with western addition	1909/01/01 1911/01/01 1919/01/01 1930/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
General Store	1909/05/01
Owner:	Owner Date:
The Danish Heritage Society of Dickson	1987/07/13

Architect:	N/A
Builder:	Axel Lundgren
Craftsman:	N/A
History:	Carl Christianson one of original homesteaders in 1903. Brought his wife with him. Homesteaded 2 miles east where orignal post office was. Original log house is no longer there. 1903 - Carl to Dickson from Nebraska. 1909 - store built. 1913 - moved to Dickson town, and lived above the store. 1980 - November store closed down. Store lived in until 1945, Mom C. moved just north of store (died 10 years later), son Gorden then moved to her house. Some of the furnishings are still in the store, but are abandoned. * * * Historical Significance : The historical significance of the Dickson Store derives from its association with Carl Christiansen who played a significant role in Danish settlement in Western Canada. Carl Christiansen had immigrated from Denmark to West Branch Iowa; he attended a school in Elkhorn, Iowa to learn English and later attended Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, moving to Omaha shortly thereafter. In Omaha he worked as a grocery clerk from 1901 to 1903. In July 1903 Carl Christiansen came to Central Alberta along with a group of seventeen other Danish immigrants. The area they settled west of Innisfail was first called Kings but was later changed to Dickson after an early Norwegian settler named Benedickson. Carl Christiansen immediately emerged as a prominent member of this new community, serving as its first Post Master and as a deacon in the Danish Lutheran church. Christiansen is best remembered, however, as the owner of Dickson Store. In 1909 Christiansen constructed his store 1.5 miles west of his homestead. The Christiansen store immediately became the commerical focus of Dickson. The owner stocked it with hardware, dry goods and other items essential to rural life. He supported the local farm economy by buying and selling eggs, trading lumber, and selling locally butchered meat which he kept with butter in an ice cooler after 1919. (In 1947 the Christiansens established what may have been the first rural freezer lockers in Alberta for their processed meat plant. These were located east of the store). The store also served as a local distribution point for the nearby Markerville Creamery. Christiansen was active on the local immigration committee throughout his life. In 1916 Prince Erik of Denmark visited Markerville; during the 1920s delegations of prominent Danish educators and social activists also visited the area and focused attention on it, after the United States imposed quotas on European immigration in 1921. On their recommendations many young Danes came to the area during the inter-war years, and Christiansen's store remained the contact point for new immigrants. The Dickson Store is an example of balloon frame construction. This technieque was developed in the United States and widely adopted in the Canadian West for the construction of commercial structures, churches, school and the majority of urban residences. Its use was facilitated by the wide spread availablity of lumber in most communities during the settlement process. The buildings constructed using this technique were utilitarian structures which would be constructed quickly to meet the immediate need for space. The builder of Christiansen's store, Axel Lundreg, was another Dane who had led immigrant settlers from the American mid-west to the neighbouring Kevisville area. * * * Old General Store Wins Title of Provincial Historic Site By Jim Lozeron An old general store which was a commercial focal point for Alberta's first Danish settlement here has achieved the province's highest historical designation. Alberta Culture and Multiculturalism has declared the Dickson general store a provincial historic resource. ...

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:
Provincial Historic Resource	1988/03/16

Register:	N/A

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places:	4665-0570