Alberta Register of Historic Places

Old St. Paul Rectory

St. Paul

Other Names:

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place
The Old St. Paul Rectory is a two and one half-storey building situated on an expansive lot near the downtown core of the Town of St. Paul. Constructed in 1896, the building features symmetrical massing, a three sided galerie (covered veranda) on the ground floor, and a pedimented portico on the second storey.

Heritage Value
The heritage value of the Old St. Paul Rectory lies in its association with the last major effort of the Roman Catholic Church in Alberta to provide an agricultural settlement for the Métis people. It also possesses heritage value for its fine Canadian French-Colonial architecture.

During the mid- to late-nineteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church in Alberta established several mission sites devoted to the Métis people. Spearheaded by the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate religious order, these missions were intended to serve the Métis' spiritual needs and facilitate their transition from a hunting and trading lifestyle to a sedentary, agricultural form of economy. In 1892, the legendary missionary Father Albert Lacombe began lobbying the federal Conservative government for assistance in establishing an agricultural settlement for the Métis. St. Paul-des-Métis became a reality in 1895, when the Dominion government leased four townships of land to a syndicate which included the Bishop of St. Boniface and the Bishop of St. Albert. With Lacombe as Superintendent and Treasurer and Father Joseph-Adeodat Thérien as manager, the new settlement grew into a modest community of thirty families containing a sawmill and industrial school. The Sisters of the Assumption also came to the settlement to serve its inhabitants. A chronic lack of funding and a number of calamities, including a fire that destroyed the school, led to the abandonment of the site as a Métis agricultural community and its opening to general settlement in 1909.

The Old Rectory at St. Paul was built in 1896 as the administrative centre for the Oblate priests at the new settlement. The building's design embodies the nineteenth century, Canadian French-Colonial architectural vision, a marriage of seventeenth century French colonial architectural elements with features of the eighteenth and nineteenth century classicism prevalent in the English colonies. The three-sided wooden galerie (covered veranda) and the general lack of exterior ornamentation represent the French colonial architectural tradition, while the building's symmetrical massing, Palladian-like proportions, and Georgian style pedimented portico express the layering of classicist British colonial design sensibilities into those of French Canada.

Source: Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch (File: Des. 1172)

Character-Defining Elements
The character-defining elements of the Old St. Paul Rectory include such features as:
- mass, form, scale, and style;
- gable roof with corbelled chimney and gable-roof dormer;
- horizontal wood drop siding;
- three-sided covered veranda, included simple, square column supports and gently sloping awning;
- second storey pedimented portico above the main entrance leading to balustraded porch;
- fenestration pattern.

Location

Street Address:
Community:	St. Paul
Boundaries:	Lot E, Block X, Plan 1873HW
Contributing Resources:	Building: 1

ATS Legal Description:

Mer	Rge	Twp	Sec	LSD
4	9	58	4	13 (ptn.)

PBL Legal Description (Cadastral Reference):

Plan	Block	Lot	Parcel
1873 HW	X	E	A

Latitude/Longitude:

Latitude	Longitude	CDT	Datum Type
53.990300	-111.288007	GPS	NAD 83

UTM Reference:

Northing	Easting	Zone	CDT	Datum Type

Recognition

Recognition Authority:	Province of Alberta
Designation Status:	Provincial Historic Resource
Date of Designation:	1984/05/18

Historical Information

Built:	1896 to 1896
Period of Significance:	N/A
Theme(s):	Building Social and Community Life : Religious Institutions Expressing Intellectual and Cultural Life : Architecture and Design Peopling the Land : Settlement
Historic Function(s):	Religion, Ritual and Funeral : Religious Facility or Place of Worship Residence : Group Residence
Current Function(s):
Architect:
Builder:
Context:	HERITAGE SIGNIFICANCE The Old St. Paul Rectory was constructed to serve as the administrative centre and residence for the Oblate Priests who were engaged in the establishment of a colony for destitute Metis. The Oblates had been ministering to Indian and Metis peoples at Red River and points west since 1845. An earlier attempt to establish a Metis colony was made by Father Lacombe at St. Paul des Cris (present site of Brosseau) in 1866. This attempt to induce the Metis to acquire agricultural skills met with scant success because of the continued availability of buffalo and was further discouraged by the smallpox epidemic of 1870. Throughout the history of the colony, it was plagued by lack of funds, calamities like the destruction of the boarding school only two weeks after it had been constructed and the continued lack of Metis interest in agriculture. Built to house the priests, it also served as a convent for the Sisters of Assumption (1899-1903), the first chapel, school, telegraph and post office, and store during the thirteen year life of the Metis colony. The colony was abandoned in 1909 and the land was opened for settlement. The rectory continued to play a prominent role in the community as late as 1948 when it was used as the first Bishop's residence for the Diocese of St. Paul. The Old St. Paul Rectory is therefore closely associated with the transition of northern Alberta from a fur trade frontier within which the Metis played a significant role as hunters and traders; to a settlement frontier which emphasized its agricultural potential as well as its timber and mineral resources. Father Lacombe's efforts to deal with the needs of the Metis constituted a response to that change. ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE The St. Paul Mission House is a noteworthy example of the "Canadian" French-colonial Style. The builders of the Mission House have combined the distinct domestic designs brought to Canada by the French in the 17th century with the hybrid 18th century French-Colonial style from the United States.

Additional Information

Object Number:	4665-0528
Designation File:	DES 1172
Related Listing(s):
Heritage Survey File:	HS 18251
Website Link:
Data Source:	Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Historic Resources Management Branch, Old St. Stephen's College, 8820 - 112 Street, Edmonton, AB T6G 2P8 (File: Des. 1172)