Description of Historic Place

The Cottingham House, completed in ca. 1904, is a large stone farmhouse on a rural property near Boissevain. The municipal designation applies to the 2 1/2-storey building and its grounds.

Heritage Value

The Cottingham House exemplifies the sturdy, practical four-square farm dwellings that appeared throughout southern Manitoba during the settlement era. The structure's substantial stone walls, built by noted Boissevain-area mason James McLachlan, wrap around a commodious interior that contains unpretentious wood finishes and other features. Erected for pioneer businessman William Cottingham to satisfy requirements for a homestead patent, this house also is associated with three generations of the Archibald Smith family, including well-known local journalist Lorna Smith.

Source: Rural Municipality of Morton By-law No. 99-08, September 16, 1999

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Cottingham House site include:
- its location off a gravelled municipal road surrounded by farmland near Boissevain
- the building's placement on a slight rise secluded behind a mature shelter belt

Key elements that define the dwelling's exterior character and four-square design include:
- the tall 2 1/2-storey massing under a truncated hip roof with a west-side gable and with a shallow north pavilion and two-storey south bay, also under gable ends
- the roughly finished walls of fieldstone gathered from the property and locally quarried sandstone, set in continuous level courses
- the functional fenestration with abundant tall rectangular windows outlined by segmental-arched stone heads and concrete sills
- details such as the shingled gable ends, transom windows over entrances, etc.

Key elements that define the dwelling's interior heritage character include:
- the four-square plan with large rooms and high ceilings
- the second-floor layout with four bedrooms off a central hallway running the width of the building
- the dark-stained solid wood doors, wide baseboards and trim throughout, the light-stained wood floors, etc.
- details such as the plaster medallion and glass light fixture in the dining room, the wide pocket doors in the living area, the transoms (some with pebbled glass) over most doorways, the stained-glass panel in the bay window, the variety of iron registers, the vertical painted wood wainscotting in the kitchen, etc.