Cardston’s historic Cobblestone Manor being offered to contest winner

Southern Alberta Newspapers Photo Submitted

By Heather Cameron
Westwind Weekly News

The Cobblestone Manor Bed and Breakfast and Restaurant in Cardston is running a contest to find its next owners from now until July 15.

Ivan Negrych, current owner of Cobblestone Manor, says the contest rules are that entrants need to write a letter consisting of 300 words or less outlining what they would do if they owned Cobblestone Manor. 

The entry fee, Negrych said, is $500 and is to be paid via certified cheque, credit card, money order, or e-transfer.

“All letters will be read by the owners, Ivan and Marsha Negrych, and then 10 letters will be chosen (which) will be re-read by a panel of three judges, and they will select two best letters from which the owners will chose one winner,” said Negrych. 

Negrych says that the contest is hoping to see 3,000 letters, but if they do not reach the goal of that by July 15, they may extend the contest for an additional three months.

The winner of the contest, Negrych says, will get a clean title for Cobblestone Manor, mortgage free, and possession will be determined at a later time agreed to by both parties.

Negrych says that Cobblestone Manor, which he and his wife have owned for 22 years, will be open and fully operational throughout the contest. 

According to the Manor’s website, https://thecobblestonemanor.com/, the original log house was built in 1889 by the Joseph Young family and was bought by Henry Hoet, a Belgian finishing carpenter, in 1913. Hoet, the website says, covered the house with rocks from Lee’s Creek, and then built other rooms using the rocks, rare hardwood logs, and stained glass, with the ceiling tiles being scraps of rare wood from the Alberta Temple, while the Tiffany lights and bookshelves include colourful stained glass from Italy.

According to Canada’s Historic Places (https://www.historicplaces.ca) Cobblestone Manor was designated a Provincial Historic Resource in 1982, and Negrych says that his family bought it in 2002 as a retirement plan.

For a chance to take ownership of the historic property, send in your letter to WinTheCobblestone@gmail.com, or mail it to Win The Cobblestone PO Box 1327 Cardston, AB., T0K0K0.