The
community arose around Cardston primarily through an influx of Mormons from Utah seeking refuge from persecution that followed increasingly harsh antipolygamy legislation. Led by Charles Ora Card, they established farms in 1887 around present-day Cardston.
Completely restored in 1937 by the LDS, the house is today a museum operated by the Cardston Historical Society. The museum is open July and August from Tuesday to Saturday, 11AM – 7PM. One may schedule an off-season tour by phoning 403-653-3366.
C.O. Card House
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
The C.O. Card House is a one and one-half storey log building located on part of a city lot in central Cardston.
HERITAGE VALUE
The heritage value of the C.O. Card House lies in its association with Charles Ora Card, founder of the present town of Cardston and responsible for the first Mormon "stake" in Canada. The house thus represented the focal point for Mormon expansion in Canada and the social centre of the Cardston settlement on the easterly edge of Lee's Creek and St. Mary's River.
Between 1887 and 1905, Card was instrumental in establishing an extensive irrigation system, gristmill, sawmill, cheese factory as well as the Cardston Mercantile Company for the new community. Mormon communities (such as Stirling, Raymond, Magrath and Taber) contributed in major proportions to the development of agriculture, irrigation and to southern Alberta industry, commerce and transportation.
Constructed in 1887, the same year the Mormons trekked from Utah to southern Alberta, the C.O. Card House is the oldest standing log building in the Cardston district and one of the oldest in Alberta. In accordance with the Mormon tradition of preserving the home of the community founder, the house was dismantled, cleaned, and reassembled as part of the community's Golden Jubilee in 1937 and is maintained as a museum.
CHARACTER-DEFINING ELEMENTS
The heritage value of the C.O. Card House is preserved in such character-defining elements as:
- horizontal log construction with traditional Mormon features such as a symmetrical front elevation with central gable and half dovetail notching;
- fenestration pattern with offset entrance;
- brick and stone chimneys;
- stone fireplaces;
- white washed and natural log finish on interior;
- door and window trim;
- porch addition (circa 1889) east elevation;
- original site on historic Main Street of Cardston.
From Historic Places Canada