Though the town of Enderby doesn't seem to have a Heritage Registry, per se, it has a heritage commission, The Enderby & District Heritage Commission. This commission has designated certain buildings within the district as heritage buildings and has presented these bronze plaques to each one. Not that we found them all by any means, but the only ones we found were affixed to three old churches in Enderby, dating from 1891 to 1918.
The first service in the church was held on May 9th, 1891. On May 9th, 1991, a 100th anniversary service was held to commemorate the auspicious occasion. Oddly, a report from the Okanagan Historical Society, this one from 1969, states that "During May 1891 a site was selected for the Church of England and building was commenced in June." This is a month after the first service was supposed to have been held in the new church. I suspect that the discrepancy in dates arises from fading memories, more than anything else. Fonds of the Anglican Diocese of Kootenay Archives indicate that the church did, indeed, open in 1891.
The parish was established in 1885, the same year that the town of Enderby received its name. The church forms one half of the Anglican Parish of Armstrong-Enderby, consisting of the two churches, St. James and St. George, and resides in the Diocese of Kootenay.
St. George's is the
oldest place of worship (Page 21, Volume 19, 1951) in the Okanagan Valley still on its original site. St. James's in Armstrong is older but was moved from Lansdowne when the railway ran through Armstrong and not Lansdowne, causing the entire town to be moved to Armstrong.
A very complete history of the church is to be found
here. It is a link from the old Enderby Museum website, soon to be closed. It has not yet been transferred to their new site. Hopefully I'll be able to update the link when it moves.
ST. GEORGE'S
"St. George's is one of the oldest Anglican churches in the Okanagan Valley. It first welcomed parishioners in the spring of 1891. Prior to its construction, the fairthful met in homes, schoolhouses and barns ministered by traveling missionaries from Kamloops. The church was initially lit by candles and heated by a wood stove. The early donors' list reads like a who's who of Okanagan pioneers, including J.A. Mara, T.G. Vernon, M. Lumby, C. O'Keefe and the Earl of Aberdeen. St. George's continues to be a symbol of God's presence in the midst of life.
On October 15th, 2006, Rt. Rev. John Privett, Bishop of the Diocese of Kootenay, blessed renovations to the church undertaken by the Parish with generous donations from church members and community groups. The bell, donated by the Canadian Pacific Railway, first rang on Christmas 1906, and still rings each Sunday, inviting people to worship.
Enderby & District Heritage Commission
From the plaque at the church