Description of Historic Place

The Klassen Museum is a Municipal Heritage Property located on one commercial lot at 801 Herbert Avenue in the Town of Herbert. The property features a one-storey, red brick, industrial building which was constructed in 1916.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Klassen Museum resides in its association with the Ford Motor Company as a vehicle assembly plant and dealership. As early as 1910, local businessman A. E. Josephson and his son had established a Ford dealership and agricultural implement business in Herbert in the former Peter J. Funk building at Herbert Avenue and Thompson Street. After this building was destroyed by fire a couple of years later, the Josephsons constructed a new one-storey brick building on the same site in 1916. Disassembled Model T Fords arrived in Herbert in CPR boxcars and then were assembled and sold locally. Peter Harder and Jacob K. Wiebe acquired the Ford dealership from the Josephsons in 1924 and continued the business under the name of Harder and Wiebe Ford Agency until the early 1940s, when Harder left to operate the Herbert Machine Shop.

The heritage value of the property also resides in its representation of small industrial architecture during the early twentieth century. The rectangular one-storey building features a flat roof and concrete block walls with brick veneer along the two street façades. Corbelling near the cornice line and brick pilasters add variety to the street facades. Large exterior doors on both east and north walls and multiple windows on three walls provide excellent access to the interior space and good lighting. The interior includes a large open workshop space and smaller basement utility room for furnace and washroom.

The heritage value of the property also resides in its former use as a museum. Peter E. Klassen purchased the former Josephson Garage in 1974 and converted the building into a museum. Klassen farmed near Herbert for several years and assembled an impressive collection of antiques. Known locally as The Old Homestead Museum, the museum was opened to the public each summer. After Peter Klassen passed away in the early 1980s, his wife and daughter continued to operate the museum for a few more years. The Klassen Museum artifacts eventually were auctioned off and attracted buyers from throughout North America, a measure of the value and historical significance of the museum’s collection.

Source:

Town of Herbert Bylaw No.2002-08.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Klassen Museum lies in the following character-defining elements:
-elements which reflect the building’s historic use as a Ford dealership and garage, such as the “Ford Garage” sign and date over the corner front door, and “Ford” name set in small tiles in the concrete threshold to the corner entrance;
-elements which reflect the building’s function as a small industrial building, including its massing, flat roof, concrete block walls with brick veneer, brick pilasters and corbelling, large access doors on both east and north walls, multiple windows on three exterior walls, and interior layout with large workshop space;
-elements which speak to the use of this building as a local museum, such as the exterior “Klassen Museum” signage.