Description of Historic Place

The Drysdale House, a wood-frame structure built in 1915, is situated amid a landscape of rolling hills and open fields along Highway 16 east of Neepawa. The 2 1/2-storey dwelling is set within a large sheltered yard with perennial flower beds and small orchards of apple trees. The municipal designation applies to the house and the site on which it sits.

Heritage Value

The Drysdale House, built for farmers George and Jean Drysdale, is a good example of the large four-square dwellings established in southwestern Manitoba in the early twentieth century. Popularized through commercial pattern books, the four-square was solid, roomy and adaptable, yet also an economical building type. Those attributes were enhanced at the Drysdale House by a novel inset verandah and finely crafted interior. This site also is noted for its connection to prairie horticultural history. The Drysdales' son, Wilfred, propagated orchards on the property in the mid-twentieth century as part of his work with the Morden Experimental Farm developing new varieties of prairie-hardy apples. One variety selected for marketing, the Prairie Magic Apple, is still grown here and his healthy orchards are still present.

Source: Rural Municipality of Langford By-law No. 03/01, November 13, 2001

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the site include:
- placement of the house facing south, set back on the east side of the deep farmyard, with the long narrow driveway
- the small apple orchard on the east side of the property, the rows of apple and plum trees to the west side, the extensive grassed grounds and the large surrounding trees that shelter the yard

Key elements that define the external character of the Drysdale House include:
- the blocky four-square form with a large truncated hipped roof, gable dormers located on the west, south and east sides, tall brick chimney and shiplap siding
- the inset two-storey screened verandah at the building's southwest corner
- the range of window shapes and sizes, including the two-storey bay window topped with a gable dormer on the south facade

Key internal elements that define the heritage character of the house include:
- main-floor central-hall plan with intact room configurations, in particular the front living room, spacious bright dining room and pantry with kitchen access on the east side, small front parlour and large back kitchen with back stairwell on the west, 2.74-metre-high ceilings, etc.
- the second-floor centre-hall plan with two bedrooms and a bathroom, two west-side bedrooms with built-in double-door closets and the back northeast-corner stairs that lead to the attic
- the materials, features and details, including the plain dark-stained woodwork with high baseboards throughout; maple living room and dining room floors; dining room trap door with a dumb waiter; oak living room pocket doors and built-in pantry cabinets; oak staircase with its fine joinery, etc.