Description du lieu patrimonial

The Tomecko House is a Municipal Heritage Property located in the Rural Municipality of Lipton No. 217, approximately five kilometres east and four kilometres south of the Village of Lipton. The property, situated on 65 hectares of wooded land, features a 2½-storey, red brick building constructed in between 1917 and 1918.

Valeur patrimoniale

The heritage value of the Tomecko House resides in its association with Stefan Tomecko, one of the earliest settlers in the Lipton area. He was born in 1861 in Czechoslovakia and with his wife, Maria, immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1885. After working for several years as a carpenter-foreman in the coal mines, Stefan and his family moved to Lakefield, Minnesota in about 1897 and farmed there for seven years. The Tomeckos and several other families from Lakefield arrived in Lipton in September, 1905. The Tomeckos acquired a homestead southeast of Lipton and were able to build a small house and barn before winter. The Tomeckos were prominent diversified farmers in the Lipton area. In addition to grain farming, they raised horses, cattle, pigs, sheep and turkeys and produced milk and cream products, which they sold as far away as Regina. Stefan also participated in the community as a delegate of several farm groups. Maria Tomecko died in 1932 and Stefan passed away on the farm in 1953.

The heritage value of the Tomecko House also resides in the building’s status as a landmark and focal point in the community. By about 1914, a concrete foundation for a large house had been built northeast of the original house. Construction on the house began in late summer 1917 and the house was completed in early winter 1918. This large and impressive, fourteen-room, red brick house had all the modern conveniences, such as electricity and full bathroom with hot water. It also featured a panelled dining room and fireplace. For many years the Tomecko family hosted neighbourhood dances each fall after harvest.

Source:
Rural Municipality of Lipton No. 217 Bylaw No. 2003-01.

Éléments caractéristiques

The heritage value of Tomecko House lies in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that speak to the property’s association with the Tomecko family, including the building’s location on its original site;
-those elements that speak to the property’s landmark status, such as its form, massing and prominent red brick exterior.