St. Peter’s Church

Where is St. Peter’s Church? St. Peter’s Church is in East Selkirk, Manitoba.

Columbus discovers America Canada becomes a country When was it built? 1492 Columbus discovers America 1867 Canada becomes a country 2006 Today! St. Peter’s Church was built in 1853.

Who Built It Why Did He Build It William Cockran was in charge of building the church. He was 7 feet tall and weighed 300 pounds. Why Did He Build It He wanted to convert aboriginals to Christianity. He wanted to help them settle on the land so they could farm enough food.

Who is Chief Peguis? Chief Peguis was the leader of the Salteaux people. When he was sixty, he decided to start the first aboriginal farming settlement. Chief Peguis Why? They did not have very much food. The winters were so cold they almost froze to death.

The Original Building St. Peter’s church was a wooden building painted white. It was able to hold 300 people. After a while there were so many people, they needed to build a bigger church.

Building The Stone Church Because there were so many people, they needed to build a bigger church. This new church was built out of limestone. The limestone was dug up from the river banks.

The Windows The glass for the windows was shipped from Britain. The glass was placed in barrels of hot, thick molasses that hardened before shipping. When it arrived, the molasses was heated and the windows were taken out.

The Roof When they built the roof, the long rafters were floated down the river. The roof was put on the church.

The Bell They put two bells in the tower. The biggest bell was 64.18 kg (141 ½ pounds). The smallest bell was 50.80 kg (112 pounds). The bells were made in London.

St. Peter’s Church Today Chief Peguis is buried in the churchyard. The church is still used today. Special services are held at Christmas time.

- “preserving our community’s heritage one story at a time” – This presentation brought to you by the St. Clements Heritage Advisory Committee! - “preserving our community’s heritage one story at a time” – Information Compiled/Presentation Created by Jared Laberge Bibliography St. Clements Historical Committee. East Side Of The Red. Winnipeg: Inter-Collegiate Press, 1984. Sutherland, Donna. Peguis – A Noble Friend. Steinbach, Manitoba: Derksen Printers Ltd., 2003. The End