Hardisty Residence declared a Municipal Historic Resource by City Council

March 18, 2025

Prominent Edmontonians Richard George Hardisty and his wife Esther Kelly Hardisty played a role in important events in Canada and abroad. Their Westmount home, built in 1913, has been declared a Municipal Historic Resource.

Richard George Hardisty was born in 1871. His father, Richard Charles Hardisty, was the Chief Factor at Fort Edmonton and the first Métis person to be appointed to the Senate of Canada. His mother, Elizabeth McDougall, was the daughter of George McDougall, an early Methodist missionary in the region.

Richard George served as a scout and dispatch rider for government troops during the 1885 Northwest Resistance. He helped organize Edmonton’s first hockey club in 1896 and played on its Edmonton Thistle team. In 1897 – 1898 Richard George was part of the North West Mounted Police expedition to find an all-Canadian route to the Klondike gold fields. During the First World War, he served in France as a Major in the 49th Battalion (Edmonton Regiment) of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. He died in Vancouver in 1943.

Esther was a unique woman for her time. She worked in New York as an advertising manager for Borden’s Milk and edited two medical journals before marrying Richard George. During the First World War, Esther served overseas in the nursing service. During the Second World War, Esther was a publicity executive with the National Selective Service of Canada, which found workers for factories and other war-related efforts. The National Selective Service encouraged significant numbers of women into paid employment, which had lasting effects on female labour force participation in Canada. Esther died in 1947.

“These two people, while largely forgotten today, were early Edmontonians who really made their mark on our city and our nation,” said David Johnston, Principal Heritage Planner. “We’re proud to have their home become a protected heritage property in Edmonton.”

The Hardisty Residence is an early example of a Foursquare-designed house with wood clapboard siding, a low-pitched roof with projected eaves and a front-facing gable dormer.

The owners of the Hardisty Residence are eligible to receive $74,407 from the City’s Heritage Resources Reserve fund to match the amount they will spend to renovate and refurbish the home. The Hardisty Residence is the 191st property to be designated as a Municipal Historic Resource in Edmonton since 1985.

While continuing to work on heritage designations like the Hardisty Residence, the City’s heritage planning team is starting work on a new city-wide heritage initiative called the Heritage Places Strategy. The strategy will replace the existing Historic Resource Management Plan, reflect a wider lens of Edmonton’s history and address important issues like climate adaptation and how best to preserve heritage in a densifying city.

For more information:
edmonton.ca/historicresources

Media contact:
Mary-Ann Thurber
Communications Advisor
Urban Planning and Economy
780-619-3254

NT5