Historic Building Inventories | Bearspaw Historical Society

HISTORIC BUILDING INVENTORIES

The Bearspaw Historical Society supported Hilary Tarrant’s historic building inventories in the Bearspaw, Madden and Nose Hill Creek areas. This was done by sponsoring her application to the Alberta Historic Resources Foundation, and by providing a small cash donation for additional expenses. Some of Hilary’s work outside of the normal operating area of the Bearspaw Historical Society was supported because there was no other heritage organization to do so.

Bearspaw/Madden Area – Completed in 2010

Hilary conducted a building inventory for the Cochrane and Area Historical Society in the Glendale/Glenbow area of what is now commonly called Bearspaw. The work continued in Bearspaw and the Madden area through the Bearspaw Historical Society.

Area covered: 142 sections from Lochend Road to the west, Symon’s Valley Road to the east, the Bow River to the south, and Township Road 290 to the north.

Results:

902 buildings dating between 1894 and 1969!
132 – houses
101 – barns
658 – outbuildings including granaries, animal pens or sheds, workshops, tool or machine sheds, food storage buildings, outhouses, pump or well houses, bunkhouses, root cellars and garages
11 – community buildings including 4 schools, 2 teacherages, 2 general stores, 1 church, 1 post office, 1 restaurant

Hilary reports that 139 buildings were included on the Government of Alberta’s Places of Interest List, representing 56.9% of the 244 houses, barns and community buildings surveyed. She recommends further study of the buildings as they are worthy candidates for preservation in being relatively unaltered and in serving as good examples of rural architecture in these areas.

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Nose Creek Valley Building Survey
The Nose Creek Valley Building Survey started in October of 2010 and covers 286 sections. So far 69 farms and 105 sites, including the Hamlet of Balzac have been completed. The results will be reported when the project is completed.