Draft:Rutherford Cottage

The Rutherford Cottage is a two-story historic building located in Banff, Alberta. Constructed in 1908, the cottage was built for and owned by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first Premier of Alberta, from 1908-1916. The cottage was acquired by the Bowstrings Heritage Foundation in 2018 and currently undergoing restoration. It is presently located at 525 Buffalo Street.

Overview
The Rutherford Cottage was built for Alexander Cameron Rutherford in 1908 on Lot 15, of Block B, in the town of Banff, in Banff National Park, at the time called Rocky Mountains Park. The cottage was a small eight-roomed building and lacked any essential services, apart from a singular sink with running water that was supplied via pipes running to the Bow River. The cottage was used primarily by the Rutherford family during the summer months during their annual visit to Banff. In keeping with Alexander Rutherford's spirit of generosity, family and friends of the Rutherfords, as well as faculty from the University of Alberta were also allowed to used the cottage. In 1916 the cottage was sold to Walter Huckvale, a wealthy a wealthy rancher and politician, from Medicine Hat. Following Huckvale's ownership, the cabin was sold multiple times before being purchased by the Bowstrings Heritage Foundation in 2018. The cabin is currently undergoing a $1,000,000 restoration.

Architecture
The two-story wooden structure is built in the Arts and Craft style, featuring a low-pitched roof with wide eave overhangs. The exterior walls of the cottage are clad in cedar. The cottage also features a large veranda. The front door of the cottage opened not towards the street, but to the Bow River, providing the family and their guests with views of the river and peaks such as Mount Rundle.

History
On July 2, 1902, Alexander Rutherford signed a lease agreement for the rental of Lot 15, Block B, in Banff for $15 per annum. Howard Douglas (park superintendent) recommended "that a lease be granted" provided Rutherford paid any arrears of rent due on the lot and the first half year’s rent in advance. Upon the satisfaction of these terms, Rutherford was furnished with a lease for the lot in December of 1902.

At the time Rutherford applied for the lot lease in July 1902, he had yet to visit Banff National Park, although he had travelled through the region in 1886 on a journey to British Columbia to search for a cousin who had gone missing. Rutherford's first visit to the park was during August 1902 when he spent two weeks at the Sanitarium Hotel alongside his family and two of his sister in laws. He visited several more times in the following years.

Curiously, despite paying a $15 per annum lot rent, Rutherford did not have a cottage built on Lot 15 until 1908. It is possible that his obligations as a lawyer, as a Member of Legislative Assembly for the town of Strathcona in the Northwest Territories (1902-1905), and as Premier of Alberta (1905-1910) occupied most of his time. In the spring of 1908, he hired J. Luckett to build his family a summer cottage on the lot. Construction began in May and was "rushed along" as Rutherford was desirous of making use of the cottage that summer. The cottage was completed in late June and Rutherford visited with his family shortly after it was completed. The Rutherford family returned regularly in the summer over the following six years, but following the outbreak of the World War I in 1914, the family did not return to the cottage.

In 1913, Rutherford attempted to sell his the cottage and transfer the lease of Lot 15 to Walter Huckvale. However, Huckvale failed to send sufficient funds to cover the lot rent to the Department of the interior (Canada) so lease transfer was disallowed. A sale of the cottage and transfer of the lot to Huckvale was agreed to in October 1916, although confusion over the need for the Department of the Interior to consent for the transfer delayed the formal transfer of ownership until December.

The Bowstrings Heritage Foundation purchased the Rutherford Cottage in 2018. The cabin is currently undergoing a $1,000,000 restoration under the guidance of architect Joel Piecowye with the goal of giving the cottage a new life, preserving its architectural heritage, and making the structure as close to net zero as possible.