Latest News

Winnipeg Free Press - ONLINE EDITION

Arson suspected in Barber House fire

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 06/7/2010 6:57 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies) | Last Modified: 06/7/2010 10:28 AM | Updates

WINNIPEG - A fire early this morning that heavily damaged what is believed to be the city’s oldest wood home appears to have been deliberately set, according to a fire investigator at the scene.

Darren Bayluk, an investigator with the city’s arson strike force, said the official cause won’t be determined until later this morning. But the initial investigation points to arson.

He said the fire destroyed the attic, roof and second floor of Barber House, which is located at 99 Euclid Avenue in the Point Douglas area of the city.

"The outside walls are solid timber and the outside structure looks like it’s still fairly well intact," Bayluk said. "But the second floor has collapsed and the roof is heavily damaged."

He said officers in a passing police cruiser spotted the fire at about 5:20 a.m. and notified the fire department.
"It was well involved at that point."

He said firefighters were able to contain the blaze to the building and no one was injured. By 7:30 a.m., firefighters had left and only Bayluk, another fire investigator and a couple of police officers were still at the scene. Bayluk said an engineer will likely have to be brought in to determine if the building can be saved.

Residents of Point Douglas have recently been raising funds to restore the home.

Barber House sits only a couple of kilometres from the city’s posh Exchange District condominiums, surviving from a time when Winnipeg’s wealthy and influential lived on Point Douglas.

Once the home of 19th-century journalist and businessman E.L. Barber, the two-storey log structure has stood vacant behind a protective chain-link fence in recent years and has been previously hit by vandals. It’s thought the home was built in 1854.

With tangible connections to the local business scene, Barber started buying real estate with business partner John Schultz. In 1870, Schultz fled to the Barber house after escaping Louis Riel’s forces at Upper Fort Garry. Barber smuggled him out of the colony.

Barber laid out many of the streets in North Point Douglas. Historian Lillian Gibbons wrote in the 1970s that Barber Street preserves his name, and that he christened Disraeli Street (after the British statesman), Euclid Avenue (after a pretty street in Cleveland), and Stella Avenue (after a gal from Minnesota whom he nearly married, only she wasn’t willing to come to Red River).

Barber built the house at 99 Euclid Ave. on an angle, so his wife could look out at the Logan home from the front door. Various sources date the construction of the house between 1862 and 1867. It is a rare local surviving example of Red River Frame construction, based on the French "post on sill" technique.

End lap joints between squared oak logs secured a large base -- the sill -- on which vertical logs made the frame. Horizontal logs between the posts were held solid with mortise and tenon joints. Clay and straw filled the spaces, and plaster usually covered the exterior.

Barber died in 1909. In all, his family and descendants lived in the house for about 110 years. Tracy Semmer, a great-niece of Barber, remembers hearing stories of large get-togethers in a lush front yard.

"The entrance was to a big kitchen area, and garden tea parties would be centred there," says Semmer. Guests relaxed in willow chairs on the front veranda and wandered in the yard.

"There were more trees in the yard then," she says, "and an English-style garden where they kept day lilies and thistle."

History

Updated on Monday, June 7, 2010 at 10:28 AM CDT: updated with new information including it is believed fire was deliberately set

(You must be logged in to post your reaction)

Your reaction?

More Latest News

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.