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The Stepney Residence is a pre-fabricated house that was built using pre-assembled, interlocking wall panels sold by the B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Co. Courtesy the City of Calgary

July 08, 2020 | Tyler Difley

Historical Home Spotlight: Stepney Residence

Year of Construction: 1907
Community: Mission
Architectural Style: Edwardian Gable Front
Architect: B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Co.

Located in the oldest part of the historic community of Mission, the Stepney Residence holds a unique distinction. It is a rare example of a prefabricated house constructed using pre-assembled, interlocking wall panels that still displays its original cladding. In fact, it is the only confirmed example left in Calgary.

At the time of its construction, package or kit homes – where blueprints and materials were ordered from catalogues – were popular, but partially pre-assembled homes were not as common. The building materials were supplied by the B.C. Mills Timber and Trading Co. – the largest lumber manufacturing facility in Western Canada at the time – which only produced ready-made building packages from 1904-1910. The house package was designed in such a way that two men with common tools and basic knowledge of how to use them could assemble the structure in 1-4 days.

The home was built for Guy and Cedric Stepney, two brothers who came to Canada from Ireland after purchasing 2,000 acres of land near Gleichen for a ranch, but they never lived there. The primary occupant of the home for the first several years of its existence was a real estate agent named Jonathan Johnston.

Check out CREB®Now's March 1 issue for our next historical home of the month!