How to research the history of your house in Calgary

Why look into your home's past

Knowing your home's history is satisfying in its own right, and it is useful before a renovation. The build date hints at the wiring, plumbing and materials behind the walls. Old photos can show original porches, windows and trim worth restoring. Records can reveal past additions and whether they were permitted. Our guide to Calgary house styles by decade explains what each era usually means for a renovation.

Start with what you already have

• Your property assessment notice shows the approximate year of construction the City has on record.
• Your purchase documents, real property report and any past home inspection reports.
• Dates stamped or written in the house, such as inside toilet tanks, on the back of electrical panels, on furnace labels or on framing in the basement. These may belong to replacements, so treat them as clues rather than proof.
• Neighbours who have lived on the street for a long time, and your community association.

Land titles

The City of Calgary suggests starting with the title of the land your house sits on. A title search shows the legal owners over time, the lot and any registered mortgages or liens. Current titles reach back to about 1990, and historical searches can trace earlier owners. A back-to-patent search follows the land all the way to the first grant from the Crown. Searches are ordered through an Alberta registry agent or the province's land titles service. A title will not tell you exactly when the house was built, but the change in value and ownership often narrows it down.

The City of Calgary Archives

• Assessment rolls from 1890 to 2015 show owners and assessed values year by year. A jump in value often marks when a house was built or expanded. Older records need the legal description, and records from 1963 on use the roll number.
• Assessment history cards can include descriptions, sketches and sometimes photos.
• Fire insurance plans are detailed maps that show building footprints and materials, useful for seeing what stood on a lot in a given year.
• Aerial photographs show the lot and neighbourhood over time.
• Building permit records can show additions and alterations and when they were approved.

Who lived there

• Henderson's Directories were published every year and list residents and businesses by name and by street address, which lets you trace who lived in your house year by year.
• Early Alberta newspapers through the University of Calgary Libraries, and the Calgary Herald archive through Calgary Public Library, can turn up stories about past owners and the house itself.
• Census records and family history sites can fill in more about the people.

Photos and heritage records

• Calgary Public Library's local history collection holds photographs and community histories.
• The Glenbow Western Research Centre, now at the University of Calgary, holds a large archive of Calgary photographs and records.
• Check whether your house is on the City's Inventory of Evaluated Historic Resources, Alberta's Register of Historic Places or the Canadian Register of Historic Places. Heritage-listed homes may have survey notes already written.
• Heritage Calgary and the Calgary Heritage Initiative publish guides to researching a building and sometimes run workshops.

Using what you find in a renovation

Old photos can guide a faithful restoration of a porch, windows or trim, while the build date tells a builder what to test for before work starts, such as asbestos, vermiculite or knob and tube wiring. If the house is on a heritage inventory, check what that means for exterior changes before you design. Our older home guide and asbestos guide explain the next steps, and our before-you-renovate checklist helps you look at the house with fresh eyes.