Description of Historic Place

The Lacombe Home site is a collection of structures situated on approximately 15.6 hectares in Calgary's Fish Creek Park/Midnapore community. Extant structures on the site include a brick laundry and frame shed, both built circa 1910, a heavy-timber water tower and a brick carpenter's shop, both built circa 1920, and a 1927 brick heating plant.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Lacombe Home site lies in its association with pioneer missionary Albert Lacombe and his establishment of one of the earliest homes for the orphaned, the aged, and the poor in the province.

Albert Lacombe was a legendary figure in early Alberta, a man of rare energy and will whose abundant charm, incisive intellect, and indefatigable spirit shaped the social and spiritual landscape of the province. Born in Saint-Sulpice, Lower Canada, in 1827, Lacombe was ordained as a secular priest in 1849 and became a member of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.) in 1856. During his long career as a cleric, Lacombe travelled extensively throughout the vast North-West Territories as a missionary. Among Lacombe's many accomplishments were his essential role in establishing St. Albert and other Alberta communities; his diplomacy in resolving disputes between Natives and Euro-Canadian settlers, businessmen, and politicians; and his status as a strong advocate for French and Catholic culture in western Canada.

Lacombe's last major project in Alberta was the construction of Lacombe Home, a substantial facility to accommodate orphans, the aged, and the poor. To capitalize the undertaking, Lacombe - a master fundraiser - approached some of his well-heeled friends. From Calgary cattle tycoon Pat Burns he received 200 acres of picturesque ranch land north of Midnapore; after the construction of Lacombe Home, Burns also provided the home with abundant supplies of fresh meat, butter, and dairy cattle. Lacombe's long-time friend Lord Strathcona contributed a "petit souvenir" of $10,000 to the enterprise. A colliery owner in Lethbridge donated several railcars full of coal, another associate contributed lumber to erect the outbuildings, and two railway companies generously agreed to transport these materials without cost. Lacombe also managed to convince the Sisters of Charity of Providence to operate the facility. The Lacombe Home was officially opened in 1910. Ever solicitous for support, Lacombe persuaded attendees at the opening to donate both money and linens for the undertaking. Considered by Lacombe the culmination of a life dedicated to ministering to the most vulnerable in western Canada, the home was likely the first of its kind in Alberta.

Tragically, the Lacombe Home was destroyed by fire in 1999. Nonetheless, several significant ancillary structures associated with the home still exist, including a brick laundry, frame shed, unusual heavy-timber water tower, brick carpenter's shop, and a brick heating plant. The water tower possesses particular significance for its prominent verticality, marking it as an important landmark in the area. The collection is an excellent - and perhaps the only extant - example of such an early institutional complex.

Source: Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: Des. 303)

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements of the Lacombe Home site include such features as:

Site:
- prominent, hilltop location;
- spatial relationship between buildings.

Brick Laundry:
- mass, form, scale, and materials;
- cornice and brick parapet;
- brick chimney;
- fenestration pattern and style;
- brick sills;
- recessed brick elements;
- original oak flooring south end of main floor.

Frame Shed:
- mass, form, and scale;
- horizontal siding;
- corner boards;
- cedar shingle roof;
- window and door openings.

Heavy-Timber Water Tower:
- mass, form, scale, and materials;
- octagonal shape;
- segmented, octagonal hip roof with cedar shingles;
- heavy-timber construction;
- shiplap horizontal wood siding with vertical cladding elements at the corners;
- fenestration pattern and style;
- original water tank;
- attached pump house.

Brick Garage/Carpenter's Shop:
- mass, form, scale, and materials;
- door and window openings.

Brick Heating Plant:
- mass, form, scale, and materials;
- brick sills and vertical courses above windows;
- fenestration pattern and style;
- brick chimney.