Four owners, one hillside
The Story of the Home
Long before West Terrace had a name, this hillside above the Bow was open country on the western edge of a town that had only just been incorporated. In the 1970s a Calgary doctor chose the very lip of the hill and began building a stone-and-timber house to take in the river and the mountains — then, two years into the build, passed away in a car accident. The house sat unfinished for years, sharing the hillside with hundreds of acres of his estate.
The Town of Cochrane acquired more than 200 of those acres from the estate — land that helped shape the west end of town and the reserve that still runs behind the property. The remaining 25 acres, and the half-built house, were bought by Ron Minion, a former RCMP officer, who finished it in 1980. For years there were stables and chicken coops on the slope behind the house. The Duff family followed, keeping it for a quarter century and subdividing the surrounding land in the 1990s into the crescent you drive today.
“We have been here for fifteen years. We love our home and have thoroughly enjoyed being its caretakers. It has a wonderful energy and its location is spectacular — it is truly like living on an acreage in the city. And we have the best neighbours.”
The current owners — collectors of antiques, books and history — are only its fourth. The gabled stone, the vaulted timber ceilings and the wood-panelled library are the same bones the doctor drew on this hill fifty years ago; the reserve behind the house is the last of his acres, and it isn’t going anywhere.
Provenance as recounted by the current owners; the town’s land purchase and the subdivision dates are from the same account. Anyone with more on the doctor who began the house is warmly invited to get in touch.
- 1971Cochrane becomes a town
Population just past 800; the west hillside above the Bow is still open land.
- Mid-1970sThe doctor begins to build
A stone-and-timber house is started on the lip of the hill, on an estate of several hundred acres. Two years in, its builder passes away in a car accident and the house stands unfinished.
- Late 1970sThe town buys 200+ acres
The Town of Cochrane acquires the bulk of the estate from the doctor’s heirs; 25 acres stay with the house.
- 1980Finished by Ron Minion
A former RCMP officer completes the home. Stables and chicken coops sit on the slope behind it.
- 1990s – 2000sThe Duff years
Twenty-five years of one family; the remaining acreage is subdivided into West Terrace Crescent.
- 2011 – todayThe fourth owners
Fifteen years of stewardship — updated kitchen, renovated baths, new windows and roof shakes — and now, the next chapter.
