Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

Situated on the east side of Place Manson, beside the post office, this ancestral home was built around 1890 and belonged for many years to R.F. Cowan, Secretary Treasurer of the Municipality from 1923 to 1954, hence its name.  Mansonville's funeral parlour was once housed here.  The building changed hands, was converted to rental units, has housed both restaurant and laundromat.  It is currently being renovated by a new owner for residential purposes (2012).

Robert Francis (Frank) Cowan (1887-1964) was born in Potton, the son of a farmer.  He was educated locally and in Stanstead, where he excelled in mathematics.  He taught school briefly at 16 years of age and later became a Chartered Accountant. 

Mr. Cowan was considered a man of high integrity, well respected and well liked by this community.  He worked diligently for the advancement of education in Mansonville as Secretary Treasurer of the School Municipality of Potton until 1964.  In addition to his civic and business responsibilities, he was a faithful servant in the Mansonville United Church for 58 years.  In 1922, he married Edith Amelia Aiken (1896-1964), and they had one daughter, Mary F., who married Merton E. Bailey.

Benjamin Cowan (1840-1906) and his wife, Jane Brydges (1844-1924), parents of Robert Francis Cowan, are interred in the Protestant Cemetery of Mansonville, as is their son, R.F. Cowan and his wife, Edith.^[1]

According to the evaluation of Claude Bergeron, this house is of strong patrimonial value, because of the mansard roof and other architectural characteristics that are very rare in Mansonville.  The classification takes into account only heritage value and leaves aside the authenticity of a building.