William T. Ogden House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids William T. Ogden House |
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William T. Ogden House
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Neo-Classical |
| Town or city | Stirling, Alberta |
| Country | Canada |
| Coordinates | 49°29′53″N 112°31′30″W / 49.498°N 112.525°W |
| Construction started | between 1910-1919 |
| Completed | between 1909-1913 |
| Demolished | Historic Building |
| Client | Private |
| Technical details | |
| Structural system | Brick |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | William T. Ogden & Bent Rolfson |
The William T. Ogden House is a very old and special brick mansion in Stirling, Alberta, Canada. It looks like a grand Neo-Classical Georgian style home. William T. Ogden started building it in 1910, and it was finished in 1919.
Over the years, this house has been used for many different things! It was once a place where people could rent rooms, a pool hall, and even a dance studio. In 1934, it became a temporary school for young students (grades 1 to 4) after the local school had a fire. People in the village have even thought it was haunted since the 1950s! Today, every Halloween, the owners give tours of the Stirling Haunted Mansion, making it the biggest haunted house in Southern Alberta. In December, they also host the Santa Claus Mansion event, which goes well with a Christmas lights tour. A fun mini-railroad, called the Lost Frontier Mini-Railway, winds its way around the property.
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A Special House with History
William T. Ogden was one of the first people to move to Canada to settle in this area. He arrived in 1899. This grand house was actually the second home he built. His first house was much smaller than the one you see today.
Building a Strong Home
The William T. Ogden House was built very well and cost a lot of money for its time, about $15,000. Its walls are about 12 inches (30 centimeters) thick. They are made of two layers of brick with a space in between. This space helped keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer. The foundation walls are even thicker. This stopped water from getting into the basement, especially when the land around the house was watered using old methods.
Modern Features for Its Time
This house had many cool features that other homes in the area did not have back then. It had electric lights, powered by 12 batteries. These batteries were recharged by a motor. The house also had central heating from radiators, warmed by a coal-fired furnace. It even had hot and cold running water! Water was pumped from a very large tank next to the house into another storage tank in the basement.
The rooms inside were big and open, with ceilings 10 feet (3 meters) high. A wide staircase led up to a large hall on the second floor, where seven rooms branched off. This house was, and still is, a very important and noticeable building in the community.
William T. Ogden's Vision
William T. Ogden was one of the Mormon pioneers who came to Southern Alberta in 1899. He helped build the St. Mary River Irrigation Canal. He designed the house himself. He remembered the style of buildings from the southern United States, where he had served a mission and met his first wife.
He drew the plans with his architect friend, Bent Rolfson. They built the house over several years, finishing it in 1919, with help from local workers. Ogden was a well-known person in the Stirling community.
A House with Many Lives
After William T. Ogden passed away in 1930, the house slowly started to show its age. As mentioned, it was used for school classes for a while. It also became a pool hall, then an apartment building, and later a rooming house for people who needed a place to stay after World War II. For the last 30 years, different owners have worked hard to fix it up and make it beautiful again.
See also
Images for kids
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A plaque outside the William T. Ogden House.
