1955 - St. Andrew's Anglican Church - Trail, BC - Dated Buildings and Cornerstones on Waymarking.com

From "History Of St. Andrews" at (visit link) (Abridged)
The Rev. Henry Irwin, a pioneer missionary in B.C., was the first rector of both Rossland and Trail. He is better known as Father Pat, and his life and work in the Golden City from January 27th, 1896 to November 5th, 1899 won for him an abiding place in the heart and mind of all those who knew him. As there was no church at the time of his arrival, he conducted his first service in Rossland in the old Opera House on February 2, 1896.

The small settlement at Trail Creek Landing (now the town of Trail) had, as yet, no minister in the cluster of tents and shacks which straddled the creek. Early in January 1899, Father Pat announced he would hold services in the Topping and Hanna Opera house.

Everyone was invited, no matter what his faith. Response was good and the big new building was crowded, but no minister appeared – Father Pat, on his way down the snowy hill from Rossland, had met a teamster in distress and stopped to help him out of his difficulty. Finally, on the afternoon of February 9, 1896, Father Pat conducted the first Anglican service held in Trail. The Anglican parish of St. Andrew was establish in Trail in February, 1899.

In June, 1899, there was still no church in Trail and services were held in homes, more often than not, in the open. It was decided to buy a lot on the corner of Pine and Eldorado Avenues. Building went ahead quickly, and by mid November the church was ready for use. Sunday, November 19, 1899 was a proud day for Anglican adherents in Trail, as they went to service for the first time in a church of their own.

The opening months of 1902 brought sadness to the Trail and Rossland congregations. On January 13th of that year the beloved Father Pat, the Rev. Henry Irwin, died in Montreal. In the winter of 1901, he had been persuaded to return to Ireland for a visit and for some reason, he left the train before it reached Montreal and was found wandering in the cold by a farmer. Seriously ill, he was taken to Notre Dame Hospital and died there a few days later.

In July of 1908, when the Rev. Harry W. Simpson arrived in Rossland, it was a thriving mining town of over 5,000 people. Mr. Simpson found the parish in a run-down condition and the original church near collapse. In the fall of that year, the long delayed work on the new church was started. The first service in the new church was celebrated on January 20, 1910. At the social gathering after the service, the rector was able to announce that due to the liberal help from many old timers who had known Father Pat and cherished his memory, the church was almost free from debt.

When the Rev. D.S. Catchpole began his incumbency in Rossland in 1929, he was to find St. George’s Church in grave danger of slipping into the street. The work of restoration was begun three years later and the whole building was put on a proper foundation. By 1943, the total cost of this work had been raised from within the parish.

Shortly after the Rev. J. Rogers began his ministry in Trail, in 1945, he found St. Andrew’s Church to be too crowded for the services required. Consequently, plans were made to replace the church with a larger building and a long term program was instituted.

The first step in expansion came in 1951 and was the demolition of the little frame parish hall and the erection of a new hall and chapel which would serve as the basement of the proposed church. In the month of November, 1952, the first unit of the new church, consisting of the parish hall and chapel, was dedicated by the Right Rev. F. P. Clark, Bishop of Kootenay.

Three years later, at Evensong on Easter Sunday, April 10, 1955, the last service was held at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church. It was a service of deconsecration of the 57 year old historic church.

All during the summer months, building went ahead quickly and soon a beautiful new edifice rose to replace the old church. On Sunday, October 23, 1955, the new St. Andrew’s Anglican Church was officially opened and dedicated by the Right Reverend P.R. Beattie, Bishop of Kootenay. For his efforts in the erection of the church, the Rev. Jack Rogers was made Honorary Canon of the Diocese of Kootenay.

In January, 1956, the congregation met to dedicate a new $12,000 pipe organ in remembrance of those killed in the last war. Built by Casavant Freres of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, the organ was the gift of the Tadanac Women’s Guild to the church. A war memorial plaque was placed on the wall behind the organ.

“Raging fire causes substantial damage to church.”

These headlines told of the disastrous fire which engulfed St. George’s Church on January 16, 1969.

The fire was of undetermined origin and Fire Chief Dougan said that the heavy black smoke was billowing skyward when the twelve firemen arrived to launch a ninety minute battle with the flames in heavy snow and cold. Damage was extensive in the sanctuary with pews, hymnals, light fixtures and the interior walls and windows being destroyed. St. Andrew’s United Church offered the use of their facilities, and in the ensuing months the St. George’s church committee gave careful consideration to all the facts relating to the building itself and to the future of St. George’s congregational life. On May 22nd a parish meeting ratified the decision of the vestry committee to lease the St. Andrew’s United Church facilities and to dismantle St. George’s church building. The church would have been sixty years old the next year.

At a church committee meeting early in 1982, a resolution to seek a union and combined worship with St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Trail was adopted by the parish of St. George in Rossland. The first joint service of the combined parish was held on June 6 of that year.

Year of construction: 1955 Cross-listed waymark: [Web Link] Full inscription: St Andrew's Church This stone laid by The Most Rev. W.F. Barfoot D.D. Primate of all Canada 16th April 1955 A.D.

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