Key Number:	HS 46360
Site Name:	St. Monica Church
Other Names:
Site Type:	1603 - Religious: Church, Cathedral or Chapel

Location

ATS Legal Description:

			Twp	Rge	Mer
			40	22	4

Address:
Number:
Street:
Avenue:
Other:
Town:	Mirror
Near Town:

Media

Type	Number	Date	View	Source

Architectural

Style:
Plan Shape:	Rectangular
Storeys:	Storeys: 1 1/2
Foundation:
Superstructure:
Superstructure Cover:
Roof Structure:	Medium Gable
Roof Cover:
Exterior Codes:
Exterior:	Rectangular window openings. Gabled roof porch and sanctuary attached to the opposite ends of the structure. It features a bellcote on the roof-ridge.
Interior:	N/A
Environment:	2 miles south of Lamerton. Located in a residential area directly east of the cetral business district. The landscaping of the site consists of a lawn which has not been maintained giving the site an untidy appearance. Other items in the church yard include a cemetery and an iron fence which totally surrounds the site.
Condition:	N/A
Alterations:	N/A

Historical

Construction:	Construction Date:
Construction Started Construction Finished	1894/01/01 1895/01/01
Usage:	Usage Date:
Church	1895/01/01
Owner:	Owner Date:
Mirror and District Museum Association

Architect:	N/A
Builder:	N/A
Craftsman:	N/A
History:	Built as a place to gather and/or worship where the trails converged at a ford on the creek. At least 26 settlers (mostly bachelors) helped construct it, and the logs were cut and delivered for $1.00 a piece by Embla Whitford, a Metis. Church consecrated on May 16, 1897 by Bishop Pinkham in the Mission of Lamerton. In 1911, when the G.T.P.R. built a railway form Calgary to Edmonton, the town of Mirror grew up around the mission church. Originally built by an ecumenical group, later referred to as an Anglican church. A Mr. Huchison, who helped build the church, is buried there. Lamerton school was on land which is now the Mirror Cemtery. * * * Building Description: St. Monica's Anglican Church in Mirror is a one and one-half storey wooden structure. Originally constructed of logs in 1895, it has since been covered with wood siding. It was used as an Anglican church from 1895 to 1985 when it was closed because of the lack of parishioners. No other historical buildings occupy the site. The exterior and interior of the structure have retained a high degree of historical integrity. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: St. Monica's Anglican Church was constructed in 1895 on a 40 acre site provided by the Dominion Government. It was originally constructed in a rural setting since the first settlement in the district was the village of Lamerton located 1 1/2 miles north. The construction of the church was first suggested in the winter of 1894 during a meeting of a group of settlers in the home of the Parlby brothers. By November, a site had been chosen and plans were made for the construction of the building. In the spring of 1895 work began on the building using logs purchased from Emla Whitford over the winter. During early April, a succession of work bees cut and squared additional logs for use in the construction of the church. Friends in England provided money to pay for the building materials and some interior furnishings, including the communion table, a lectern and an altar cloth. Mrs. Rolt of Canterbury, England sent out sufficient money to buy an organ. The church was consecrated in May 16, 1897 by Bishop Pinkham, formerly a pioneer missionary and the first Anglican Bishop of Calgary. The first resident pastor, the Rev. E.L. Macnaughton, arrived in 1904. In 1911 this rural church was suddenly transformed into an urban environment because of the establishment of the townsite of Mirror by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at this location. The Parish sold 38 acres of its site to the railway company, which formed an endowment fund for church development. The impact of the creation of the townsite was no doubt also evident in the composition of the congregation. The new townsite was originally promoted as a future metropolis given its status as a GTP divisional point. As for many Alberta urban communities, however, the expectation did not come to pass. By 1924 Mirror with a population of 550 was a small Alberta railway town with an economy based almost entirely on its role as a divisional point and agricultural services centre for the estimated 175 farmers in the area. St. Monica's Anglican Church is therefore an example of the creation of social institutions in the frontier. St. Monica's history includes the added feature of having begun as a rural institution. ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE: St. Monica's Anglican is an early settlement example of a mission style church by virtue of its use of wood as a construction material, its rectangular shape and its use of rectangular window openings. It is also covered with a gable roof with a gabled roof porch and sanctuary attached to the opposite ends of the structure. It features a bellcote on the roof-ridge. This style generally emerged among frontier communities in Alberta where its utilitarian desing made it adaptable for use in the construction of schools, homes, government buildings and religious structures. Mission church architecture was influenced primarily by the need to provide a building using readily available and inexpensive building materials as well as volunteer labour with little or no architectural training. Given these economic constraints on the project, it was difficult to follow the theoretical dictates of a particular architectural style. * * * DRAFT PRESS RELEASE Edmonton, Alberta The Honourable Doug Main, Minister of Culture and Multiculturalism, announced today that St. Monica's Anglican Church in Mirror has been designated a Registered Historic Resource. St. Monica's Anglican Church was constructed in 1895 on a 40 acre site provided by the Dominion Government. It was originally constructed in a rural setting, since the first settlement in the district was the village of Lamerton located 1 1/2 miles north. The construction of the church was first suggested in the winter of 1894, during a meeting of a group of settlers in the home of the Parlby brothers. By November, a site had been chosen and plans were for the construction of the building. In the spring of 1895, work began on the building using logs purchased from Emla Whitford over the winter. During early April, a succession of work bees cut and squared additional logs for use in the construction of the church. Friends of England provided money to pay for the building materials and some interior furnishings, including the communion table, a lectren and an altar cloth. Mrs. Rolt of Canterbury, England, sent out sufficient money to buy an organ. The church was consecrated in May 16, 1897 by Bishop Pinkham, formerly a pioneer missionary and the first Anglican Bishop of Calgary. The first resident pastor, Rev. E.L. Macnaughton, arrived in 1904. In 1911, this rural church was suddenly transformed into an urban environment because of the establishment of the townsite of Mirror by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway at this location. The Parish sold 38 acres of its site to the railway company, which formed an endowment fund for church development. St. Monica's Anglican is an early settlement example of a mission style church by virtue of its use of wood as a construction material, its rectangular shape and its use of rectangular window openings. This style generally emerged among frontier communities in Alberta where its utilitarian design made it adaptable for use in the construction of schools, homes, government buildings and religious structures. Mission church architecture was influenced primarily by the need to provide a building using readily available and inexpensive buiding materials as well as volunteer labour with little or no architectural training. St. Monica's Anglican church thus reflects an important aspect in the social history of Alberta during the settlement period. It also has the added distintion of having made the transition from a rural to an urban parish.

Internal

Designation Status:	Designation Date:

Register:

Links

Internet:
Alberta Register of Historic Places: