A Labour of Love
The Joseph Young family built the original log house in 1889. In 1913, Henry Hoet, a Belgian finishing carpenter, bought the log house and began to build out of local river rocks, rare hardwoods and colourful stained glass, what is now the Cobblestone Manor.
Mr. Hoet covered the log house with rocks from nearby Lee’s Creek and then began building other rooms, finishing each before he began another. In the summer, he hauled the stones from the creek bed with a cart and in the winter on a sleigh, always accompanied by a large Newfoundland dog.
For the panels in the Stained Glass Room, Mr. Hoet bought hardwoods from all over the world. The intricate ceiling tiles were made from scraps of rare wood from the Alberta Temple. To build the wooden Tiffany lights and bookshelves, Mr. Hoet imported the colourful stained glass from Italy in the 1920s.
The Golden Oak Room was built from 1920 to 1929, and was the last room constructed by Mr. Hoet. The delicate honeycomb design in the ceiling has 61 pieces of oak in each tile!
There are three stone fireplaces in the house. Unfortunately, only one fireplace is left that contains the original mixture of beeswax used by Mr. Hoet in applying a finish to these fireplaces.
We have been told by many that Mr. Hoet had a sweetheart and was building this appealing house for her.
Sadly, his sweetheart never came to Canada, and Mr. Hoet never married. Fortunately, he left for us to enjoy this fine masterpiece, this Labour of Love, this lovely home, which is now Cobblestone Manor.
The Cobblestone Manor has been designated an Alberta Historic Resource, and will therefore be preserved as the heritage it is.
The Negrych family own and run the Cobblestone B&B and restaurant.
