Ralph Connor House

picture courtesy of Henry Kalen

The University Women's Club is located at 54 West Gate in Armstrong's Point. Our Clubhouse is the former Ralph Connor home, built in 1914 for the Reverend Dr. Charles Gordon (author Ralph Connor). Charles Gordon was a Presbyterian Minister, born in 1860 and died in 1937. Reverend Gordon married Helen Skinner King, daughter of the first principal of Manitoba College. They raised their six daughters and a son in this house. The story of Nan Pyzer, born June 21st 1898 and a domestic to Charles and Helen Gordon, describes the history of the times and is available here.

Original cost of the structure was $50,000 which was financed partly from the sale of the many books by Ralph Connor. According to the Spring 1973 edition of Canadian Author and Bookman, Black Rock (1897), The Sky Pilot (1899) and The Man from Glengarry (1901) sold over 5 million copies. Many of his books are now available on-line at Blackmask On-line - for example Glengarry School Days is at http://www.blackmask.com/books20c/ggysddex.htm .

The University Women's Club of Winnipeg, founded in 1909, rented the premises in 1939 as their club house and it opened on March 10 of that year. The second and third floors were rented by Club members, each decorating her own room with furnishings she possessed. There were five bathrooms and usually about ten residents who had their meals in the Dining Room.

The house was purchased by the Club on November 22, 1945, from the City of Winnipeg for $7,000 and title was received on December 21, 1945. The 1994 assessment on the property was $397,000.

The architect was George Northwood. He was instructed to build an Elizabethan House appropriate for an English gentleman. Our red brick clubhouse is situated on the Assiniboine River and has a circular driveway and wrought iron gates. The exterior is probably best described as Jacobean. The original portico protecting the front entrance was removed when it became unstable.

A great number of furnishings and artifacts were gifts to the Club and we especially treasure a gift from Mrs. Gordon which is a photograph of Rev. Gordon in uniform as Chaplain of the 43rd Battalion of the Cameron Highlanders, the unit he accompanied overseas in 1915.

The formal interior has leaded glass windows and beamed ceilings. With the exception of the dining room, the paneling is oak.

The Ralph Connor Room has a unique fireplace with reproduced Moravian tiles depicting biblical scenes including, among others, Cain and Abel. The tiles for the fireplace and those in the fireplace in the lower lounge, were made by the Pennsylvania Dutch. The Ralph Connor Room houses an excellent collection of Rev. Gordon's works and valuable Canadiana.

When the Club opened in 1939, the dining room had ample ecru coloured linen embroidered with the Club Crest by the members. The mahogany paneled dining room has a samovar, first purchased by Club members in 1919 and kept in individual members' homes until it found its rightful place. The seven-tiered candelabras were also an early purchase.

The lower lounge was formerly the billiard room but is now used as a meeting and conference room. It is fully equipped with a modern sound system, A/V equipment and an overhead projector and screen. Surrounding this functional space are pictures depicting our history and all of our past presidents.

A bronze plaque, designating the Club ownership, is on the south-east corner of the house. In 1976, Charles W. Gordon, (Ralph Connor) was recognized as a Person of National Historic Significance by Heritage Canada. In 1983, Ralph Connor House was designated an Historic House by the Winnipeg Historical Buildings Committee.

We are proud of our Heritage Home and can arrange tours.