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Kitzel House and Root House

216 184 Street, Surrey, British Columbia, V3S, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1998/11/02

Exterior view of Kitzel House, 2007; City of Surrey, 2007
Front elevation
Exterior view of Root House, 2007; City of Surrey, 2007
Oblique view from south west corner
No Image

Other Name(s)

Kitzel House and Root House
Nicholas/David Kitzel House
David Kitzel Root House

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1890/01/01

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2009/02/26

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

The Kitzel House and Root House site includes a one-and-one-half storey farmhouse, a one-storey root house on a raised stone foundation located to the north of the farmhouse, and associated landscape features. The site is located in a picturesque agricultural setting on a rise of land at the corner of 184 Street and Second Avenue in the Hazelmere area of Surrey. A small stream runs through the property to the north side of the farm compound.

Heritage Value

The Kitzel House and Root House are of heritage value as an example of an intact historic Surrey farmstead. The Kitzel House, which consists of a vernacular Frontier house, built in 1890, with a large front addition built in 1916, shows the farm's evolution and adaptation over time as the Kitzel family grew and prospered. The Kitzel Root House, constructed in 1916, is representative of the farm's livelihood, which was primarily the production of sauerkraut. Cabbage for the sauerkraut was stored in the root house before it was processed, packed in barrels, and then shipped to New Westminster by wagon along the Old Yale Road. The building's wartime construction date is an indication of the relative prosperity of local farmers due to the rising cost of produce during the First World War.

The site is also valued for its association with the Kitzel family. Nicholas Kitzel purchased 80 acres of land on 184 Street (originally known as Halls Prairie Road) in 1885. He farmed there with his brother David before returning to Germany in 1895, after which David Kitzel and his large family continued to operate the farm.

The Kitzel House is also valued as an example of both early vernacular construction and Edwardian era architectural expansion. The original portion of the house faced north across the farm property; the large later addition faced west to 184 Street. Typical of late Victorian homesteads, the 1890 portion exhibits simple horizontal massing and a central front-wall dormer that is a hallmark of the Gothic Revival style. The 1916 addition has the broader massing characteristic of Edwardian farmhouses and is larger and taller than the original house. Edwardian-era details, such as fishscale shingles adorn the gables, and there is a large wraparound verandah with chamfered columns.

The Kitzel Root House is valued as an example of a utilitarian agricultural outbuilding, with a partially sunken lower floor and stone foundation walls that would keep produce at cooler temperatures.

The Kitzel House and Root House are also significant for their association with the development of the Hazelmere area. Settlement in the area began in 1860, and by 1879, Hall's Prairie was one of four small communities in Surrey. Before roads were built, access to the area was by the Nicomekl or Serpentine Rivers or by a rough trail. Henry Thrift first settled the area and named his farm 'Hazelmere' after the hazel bushes that grew there. Transportation links were improved in 1891, when the New Westminster Southern Railway was built; the local stop was called Hazelmere. Over the years the agricultural focus shifted to dairy farming, due partly to the completion of the B.C. Electric Railway interurban line in 1910, which had a daily 'milk run' and allowed greater access to markets. The Kitzel farm site is a significant reminder of the farming origins of the Hazelmere community.

Source: City of Surrey Planning Department

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Kitzel House and Root House include their:
- location in the southwest corner of the farm, on a rise of land at the junction of 184 Street and Second Avenue, in an area of similar farmsteads
- continuous use as a working farm
- form, scale and massing of the buildings and their spatial configuration: one-and-one-half storey plus full basement of the Kitzel House; side-gabled roof and steeply-pitched wall dormer of the 1890 house; one-storey plus partially sunken lower floor and front-gabled roof of the Kitzel Root House
- elements of the original 1890 house including: wood-frame construction; wooden drop siding with cornerboards; and double-hung, two-over-two wooden-sash windows divided by wood mullions
- elements of the 1916 addition to the Kitzel House such as: wood-frame construction; wraparound verandah with chamfered columns and half-hipped roof; wooden drop siding with corner boards; boxed eaves with hipped returns in the front gable; alternating bands of diamond and semicircular shingles in gables; bay window on south side of the main floor; double-hung, one-over-one wooden-sash windows arranged in pairs and double-assembly in front gable; and internal corbelled red-brick chimney
- elements of the Root House such as: wood frame construction and rubble-stone foundation; wooden drop siding with cornerboards and trim boards; boxed eaves; square windows in east and west sides of stone foundation and double-hung, multi-paned windows in north gable
- associated landscape features such as a small stream, mature perimeter plantings and surrounding agricultural fields

Recognition

Jurisdiction

British Columbia

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (BC)

Recognition Statute

Local Government Act, s.954

Recognition Type

Community Heritage Register

Recognition Date

1998/11/02

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Developing Economies
Extraction and Production

Function - Category and Type

Current

Historic

Food Supply
Farm or Ranch
Residence
Single Dwelling

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

Craig Langley

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

City of Surrey Planning Department

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

DgRq-81

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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