Connor House designated historic site

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/05/2009 (6228 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

RALPH Connor House, the 1914 mansion that belonged to influential Presbyterian minister and novelist Charles Gordon, has been designated a national historic site.

The stately house at 54 West Gate in the enclave of Armstrong’s Point is now one of 26 Winnipeg sites that are federally recognized and protected for their historical significance.

The Friends of Ralph Connor House, the 200-member charitable organization that owns the house, applied about two years ago and got the exciting news two weeks ago from federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice. "We were extraordinarily pleased," said Diane DeGraves, a Friends board member. "It’s a distinct privilege."

In about 18 months, a ceremony will be held to install a bilingual plaque on the grounds. At that time, the Friends will hold a party, DeGraves said.

As a minister and orator, Gordon was an advocate for labour, church unity and international peace. Under the pen name Ralph Connor, he wrote rugged adventure novels such as The Sky Pilot and The Man From Glengarry that sold millions of copies worldwide and made him a millionaire.

When he died in 1937 at the age of 77, the Free Press called him Winnipeg’s most famous citizen. He has long been recognized by the federal government as a "person of national historic significance."

The three-storey, 23-room riverside house, which has been home to the University Women’s Club of Winnipeg since shortly after Gordon’s death, is already a municipal and provincial historic site.

The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, overseen by Parks Canada, said it designated the house partly because Gordon, Canada’s bestselling author of the early 20th century, published many of his Ralph Connor novels while living there.

The house is also significant, the board said, because Gordon, a leading churchman, used it as a manse for 25 years.

"It represented the face of Reverend Gordon in the work he did . . . in social activism," said local Parks Canada spokeswoman Dawn Bronson.

DeGraves said the board was also impressed with the mansion’s Jacobean Revival-style architecture. The grand, 11,000-square-foot residence boasts beamed ceilings, oak and mahogany panelling, leaded-glass windows, two sunrooms, five bathrooms and unique tiled fireplaces.

A campaign is underway to raise more than $2 million to improve the house’s fire safety with sprinklers, install an elevator for accessibility and make other upgrades. DeGraves said the national designation may help the Friends of Ralph Connor House qualify for grants.

The house, which is furnished with antiques, is a popular site for weddings and movie shoots, and can be rented for events.

It is not taking part in this year’s Doors Open Winnipeg tour, May 23 and 24, but will be part of an Armstrong’s Point house tour on June 27.

The University Women’s Club, founded in 1909, will hold its 100th annual meeting at the house on May 25.

Private tours can be arranged. For more information, go to www.ralphconnorhouse.com

 

alison.mayes@freepress.mb.ca

 

 

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