Description of Historic Place

Situated on a landscaped farmstead on the prairie the Motherwell House is a well-proportioned Italianate style stone building. The building is composed of two parts, a simple, square two-storey mass with an offset rectangular one-storey rear wing. The principle form has prominent bracketed eaves, a truncated hipped roof with iron cresting, and two small semi-circular dormer windows. The main elevation features a two-storey projecting gabled porch and balcony. There is a continuous verandah on one side of the rear wing. The designation is confined to the footprint of the building.

Heritage Value

The Motherwell House is a Classified Federal Heritage Building because of its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values.

Historical Value:
The Motherwell House illustrates the theme of settlers in Ontario shaping prairie society and the Ontario landscape during the settlement era. The farmhouse, intentionally designed as an integral part of the model farm, is also associated with the theme of the development of scientific agriculture and the employment of mixed farming practices in the west. Farm beautification and the use of shelterbelts are found in both themes.
William Richard Motherwell has been called the father of the Prairie co-op movement and Dominion Minister of Agriculture from 1921-1930. Motherwell played a dominant role in shaping political and social institutions in the west.

Architectural Value:
The Motherwell House is a very good example of a classically inspired Italianate style structure with simplified detailing used as a farmhouse. Distinguished by its good functional design, its construction of solid materials and its ornamental details. The Motherwell House exhibits good quality work and craftsmanship, which is primarily concentrated in the stonework.

Environmental Value:
The site is divided into quadrants with different functions. The House maintains its role as the main building in the domestic quadrant and establishes the present character of the Motherwell Homestead. The House is screened by shelterbelts from the three other service quadrants. The complex landscape surrounding the Motherwell House and barn has shelterbelts, hedges, laneways, and fences. Separated from the road by the ornamental, formal gardens, the Motherwell House is a familiar local landmark.

Sources:
Ian Doull, Motherwell Homestead, National Historic Park, Abernethy, Saskatchewan. Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office Report 88-014.
Motherwell House, National Historic Park, Abernethy, Saskatchewan. Heritage Character Statement 88-014.

Character-Defining Elements

The following character-defining elements of the Motherwell House should be respected, for example:

Its functional design and good quality materials and craftsmanship as evidenced in:

-The simple two parts massing of a square two-storey section with an offset rectangular one-storey rear wing.
-The split-face granite fieldstone exterior walls.
-The truncated hipped roof with iron cresting and two small semi-circular dormer windows and prominent bracketed eaves
-The two-storey projecting gabled porch and balcony on the main elevation.
-The gable roof rear wing with its simple dormer with fretwork details and finial.
-The continuous verandah on one side of the rear wing.

The manner in which the Motherwell Homestead establishes the rural character of the Abernathy region of south-eastern Saskatchewan.