The Icelandic Canadian - 01.06.1982, Page 42

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THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
SUMMER, 1982
THE RESTORATION OF THE
STEPHANSSON HOUSE
Provincial Historic Resource
Jane McCracken, Research Officer
Stephansson House. New siding and roof.
The home of Stephan G. Stephansson
was designated a Provincial Historic site by
the Government of Alberta in 1976 because
of Stephansson’s stature as possibly the
foremost Icelandic poet since the thirteenth
century. His move to the Alberta Territory
in 1889 freed Stephansson of the intra-
community friction between the Icelandic
Cultural Society and the Icelandic Lutheran
Church and this freedom is reflected in the
volume of poetry which Stephansson pro-
duced while he lived in the small Icelandic
settlement centered around Markerville,
Alberta. Recognition by Icelanders in
North America and at home was not neces-
sarily followed by recognition by the
majority of Canadians. It was not until
1953 that the Historic Sites and Monu-
ments Board of Canada erected a cairn to
him in the community park at Markerville
and, following the formation of Historic
Sites Service, Alberta Culture in 1973, the
home was designated a historic site of pro-
vincial importance.
By the time the government purchased
the 4.21 acres of land around the Poet’s
home from the Leif Eiriksson club of Cal-
gary in 1975, the log and framed house had
fallen into a bad state of disrepair. An
overburden of earth which had built up
over the years above the rock foundation
had caused extensive damage to the ex-
terior walls. A hole in the roof allowed
moisture to penetrate and completely rot
one of the interior log walls and the uphol-
stered furniture, bed mattresses and linens
had become the homes of field mice and
other nocturnal animals.
Prior to undertaking any restoration
work on the Stephansson House, a his-
torian on staff at Historic Sites Services
was assigned in January 1978 to research
the life and times of Stephansson. During
my first research trip to Winnipeg in the
spring of 1979 I discovered four volumes
of Bref og Ritgerdir which I requested two
members of the Stephan G. Stephansson
Homestead Restoration Committee to trans-
late. Although primarily interested in
Stephansson and his thought, I was also
looking for information concerning the
house. A few tantalizing hints about his
home were uncovered but, unfortunately,
there was not enough detail to determine
the actual stages of construction.
This had to be uncovered by the Restora-
tion section of Historic Sites which, in the
summer of 1979, sent a crew to document
the exterior and interior of the house. As-
found photographs showing construction
details outside such as the roofline, the
decorative mouldings, the comers etc.
were catalogued for future reference. Once
as-found photographs were taken of the
interior, the furniture was removed to a
warehouse for storage and eventual res-
toration. Now, the restoration technicians
were able to begin the careful stripping of
wall and floor coverings on the interior in