'A home to be loved': Manitoba historical landmark up for sale

A piece of Manitoba history is up for sale.

Sandison House, a historical landmark property overlooking Brandon, Man., is on the market.

The towering granite mansion sits on a 10-acre property with views of the Wheat City and surrounding fields.

According to the Manitoba Historical Society (MHS), the home was built in 1892 by John William Sandison – a prominent farmer of the era with a bit of a checkered history.

Sandison, a Scot who made his way to Canada, was known as the Wheat King of Manitoba. He had over 2,000 acres under cultivation by 1890, with farms in the Brandon, Kemnay, and Souris areas.

He commissioned Brandon architect William Richard Marshall to design the large stone home in 1892.

John William Sandison is shown in an archival image believed to be taken in Brandon, Man. in 1890. (Bev Rosin/Bill Kable)

"He was very demanding about it," explained John K. Butterfield, a retired architectural historian who worked for the province's historic resources branch for three decades.

"One of the stories is that he came home one day from the fields or business in Brandon or whatever, and he didn't like how the Masons had laid the stone, so he demanded that they tear it all down and rework it the way he wanted it to look."

Sandison, however, would never live in the mansion whose construction he tirelessly monitored and bankrolled. According to MHS, he fell into financial crisis around 1893 thanks to extensive frost damage to his crops. He overextended his credit and disappeared, abandoning his wife and children, along with his sprawling farm holdings in western Manitoba.

Sandison House near Brandon, Man. is shown in an undated image. (Illia Sternichuk)

A 'sympathetic restoration' for a historic home

Over the decades, Sandison House has changed hands numerous times, falling into the possessions of a wealthy Ontario farmer and the grandson of the building’s contractor, among others.

Current owners Del Clark and Bev Rosin have lived there since the late '90s.

Clark, a recording engineer, initially bought the place with the hopes of putting in a recording studio.

Little did he know, the renovations would not end there.

The sitting room in Sandison House shown in an undated image. (Illia Sternichuk)

"It was kind of naïve. He didn't realize how much work was going to be needed but he bought it, and we got together shortly thereafter, and we just started this massive renovation," Rosin told CTV News Winnipeg in an interview.

The couple gutted the home to the studs, fully insulating and rewiring the property. They meticulously refinished the woodwork, and installed hardwood and tile floors.

There had never even been a toilet in the house, so they added plumbing, as well.

"We were learning along the way, but we're both very handy," Rosin recalled.

"We had to learn how to do stonework. (Clark) picked up carpentry and has just done a marvellous job. He built all the cabinets himself."

The renovated kitchen in Sandison House is shown in an undated image. (Illia Sternichuk)

Rosin calls their work a sympathetic restoration – meaning it maintains its historical feel with all the modern conveniences.

Butterfield says the mansion's architecture is reminiscent of many granite mansions of the era, with similar homes still standing all over Manitoba.

"It's really just the craftsmanship and the ability to hold these massive stones up two-storeys high that make them incredible. They're not necessarily fancy, like Queen Anne-style or Italian. They're just these big, hulking, beautiful buildings."

Rosin said she and Clark have mixed emotions about putting the historic home up for sale. Still, they are hoping to travel and take on "another adventure."

As for the home, it is ready for its next chapter, as well - one that Rosin thinks a young family would be well-suited to write.

"Somebody with energy, that will love it as much as we have, because it's a home to be loved. It's a forever home."