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Rutherford House Provincial Historic Site
The Rutherford House in
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada was originally the home of the province's
first Premier of Alberta, Alexander Cameron Rutherford, who served
that office from 1905 to 1910; and has now become an Alberta
Provincial Historic Site. The house was constructed by Alexander in
1911, in the suburb of Strathcona by the University of Alberta and
was called Achnacarry by the family after their ancestral castle in
Scotland. It is now called the Rutherford House Provincial Historic
Site and by 1966 had been scheduled for destruction. The university
had planned on expanding the campus area and needed the lot which
was quite large. The public soon found out about the demolition and
wanted to save the historical building, so the University Women's
Club became involved in trying to save it from the disaster, and in
1970, the government said they would not destroy the house but that
it would be preserved for posterity. It is managed by the Alberta
Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Sites and Museums branch, and
is helped by the Friends of Rutherford House, a non-profit,
charitable society that was started in 1985 to help the province
with the saving and showing of the beautiful home. In May of 1909,
Alexander purchased the big lot that the house sits on, and the
strange description of him on the certificate title, says that he
was "a gentleman of Strathcona". In the latter part of that year,
plans had been developed by A. G. Wilson and D. E. Herrald, British
schooled architects and civil engineers. In the next spring, Thomas
Richards, local contractor and master mason built the foundation,
which was finally poured in May, 1910. During the summer, the double
brick walls were constructed and in the winter, the elaborate
hardwood interior was completed so the house was ready for occupancy
by February, 1911. The Rutherford family moved in by the end of
March, with Alexander, Mattie Birkett Rutherford, Cecil Alexander
Rutherford and Hazel Elizabeth Rutherford. The family would live in
the magnificent estate until 1940, when Mattie passed on, and a
short time after her passing, Alexander sold the estate to the
University of Alberta - Delta Upsilon Fraternity, for a small fee,
which had been the original cost of the house. The fraternity would
leave the house in 1969, selling it to the University of Alberta in
1968, and the board of governors leased the house to the Alberta
government in the latter part of 1970, after the successful campaign
by the Women's Club. The historical site opened to the public in the
summer of 1973, after remodeling it for three years, with most of
the original artifacts still in the house, these had been donated by
Hazel Elizabeth Rutherford and Helen Reid Rutherford, who had been
Cecil's wife. Alexander's life was quite exciting, especially during
that period in Canada, as it continued to grow and expand westward,
much like the United States did. He went to law school and remained
a lawyer throughout his life which helped him in many ventures, and
some adventures. After moving west, in 1895, he quickly became
involved in the town's politics and since he was the only lawyer in
the vicinity, he had all the work he could handle. He also became
involved with money lending and gold equipment, as well as some
dabbling in real estate. He became quite successful and apt at
legislation. He became president of the Edmonton Mortgage
Corporation, Vice President and solicitor of the Great Western
Garment company, and during the second World War, this company would
become the biggest in the British Empire. Levi Strauss & Co.
purchased it in 1961, although the factor stayed in Edmonton until
2004. He was director of the Canada National Fire Insurance Company,
the Imperial Canadian Trust Company, the Great West Permanent Loan
Company and the Monarch Life. He was also involved in founding the
University of Alberta in Edmonton and was involved in that
institution for many years.
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