At the Regular Meeting of Council on May 15, 2018, Chilliwack City Council adopted the heritage designation for the Rolfe House. Heritage designations within Chilliwack are voluntary and only done at the request of the property owner. All heritage applications are substantiated by a report from a qualified heritage consultant prior to Council adoption.

 

Members of the public are invited to attend the presentation of a Municipal Heritage Site plaque for the Rolfe House on September 28, 2018.

 

Heritage Plaque Presentation Information:

Date: Friday, September 28, 2018

Time: 10:00 am

Location: 45621 Wellington Avenue

 

Constructed in 1921, the Rolfe House is a one and one-half storey, wood frame Craftsman-style house, located in an early residential neighbourhood in Chilliwack. It is distinguished by its side-gabled roofline, twin front gable dormers, full open front verandah and shingle cladding.

 

“It is a pleasure to participate in the preservation of this piece of Chilliwack’s history and to look back on the contributions that previous owners made to our community,” said Mayor Gaetz. “The current owners of the Rolfe House are very deserving of this recognition for their continuous efforts to retain its heritage value and aesthetic qualities.”

 

The Rolfe House is a historic representation of the economic resurgence that occurred after the end of the First World War. The house was built as the family home of dry goods merchant William Thomas Rolfe, his wife Gertrude Rebecca Rolfe and their two children. It represents both the success of Rolfe’s business enterprises and the increasing prosperity of the early 1920s. The house later became home to another prominent Chilliwack family, the Barbers. Leslie Barber was the owner and publisher of the Chilliwack Progress and his wife, Connie Barber, a notable local writer.

 

The heritage designation and upcoming plaque presentation for the Rolfe House support the City’s Official Community Plan goal to foster a greater public awareness and appreciation about Chilliwack’s history and cultural heritage. Under the City’s Heritage Designation Policy, the Rolfe House will be preserved for generations to come by the municipal heritage designation bylaw.

Filed under: Rolfe House