Description of Historic Place

The Hall Residence is a Municipal Heritage Property located on one civic lot at 431 Dennis Street in the Town of Herbert. The property features a two-storey, wood-sided house, which was constructed in 1912, with second-storey front verandah.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Hall Residence resides in its connection to long-time Herbert residents and the early history of the community. Constructed in 1912 for Mary Rankel by her husband, Albert, the property is one of the earliest homes in Herbert and was a local landmark. The Rankels farmed and operated a butcher shop in Herbert. The house was used as a medical clinic during the 1920s and then sold to Anna K. Andres and her family in about 1945. After her husband passed away, Mrs. Andres converted the home into a boarding house. Henry and Mary Hall purchased the house in 1976 and sold it in 2005.

The heritage value of the property also resides in its American Foursquare architectural style. These two or 2½-storey houses, common throughout the Great Plains during the early-twentieth century, featured a symmetrical square plan with four rooms on each floor, a central staircase, and low hip roof with deep overhang. A full-width front verandah with second-storey balcony completes the house.

The heritage value of the property also lies in the property’s adaptive re-use of construction materials and in the evolution of the property to meet the changing needs of its residents. Since finished lumber was expensive and scarce due to the building boom on the Prairies at the time, materials for the Rankel house were salvaged from other buildings, such as the interior doors from a hotel in the area which was being demolished. Subsequent owners have added an interior bathroom and enclosed the original rear porch and converted it into a kitchen. A fieldstone retaining wall was constructed along the front of the property during the 1930s as a relief project.

Source:

Town of Herbert Bylaw No. 85-10.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Hall Residence lies in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that speak to the building’s connection to the long-time residents of Herbert, such as its position on its original location;
-those elements that reflect the American Foursquare architectural style, such as its symmetrical square plan with four rooms on each floor and central staircase, low hip roof with deep overhang, and full-width front verandah and second-storey balcony;
-those elements that reflect the property's adaptive re-use of construction materials and its evolution to meet the changing needs of its residents, including the use of old hotel doors in the building, the fieldstone retaining wall and the enclosed rear porch.