By Angela Brown

Former St. Vital Church being considered for new museum

Apr 5, 2018 | 12:00 PM

There might be new life in the old St. Vital Church if a local group moves ahead with their plan to turn the building into a museum.

The Town of Battleford is looking at the possibility of leasing the former St. Vital Church building, located on 20th St. E., to the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association. The organization is interested in using the facility to store and display its collection of artifacts related to land survey history in the province, in what would become the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association Museum. The church is listed as a Municipal Heritage Property, dating back to 1883.

“There is a tremendous amount of surveying history in the Battlefords and it only makes sense to recognize it here,” Michael Waschuk, member of the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association, wrote in a letter to council.

Waschuk, who is spearheading the proposed project, said he wanted the new museum established in Battleford because it is the former capital of the Northwest Territories and the site of the original Land Registry building. He said the Fred Light Museum doesn’t have room for the exhibit in its main building, but the manager thought the former church might be a suitable site as another option.

The Land Surveyors Association is also planning to fundraise to help with the building maintenance costs.

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“Council is quite in favour of us taking the next steps to understand; is this valuable? Is this something that is possible to be done with the structure of the building?” Mayor Ames Leslie said.

While the town owns the building, the local government will also need to have discussions with the Catholic Diocese before allowing the lease, as a former priest is buried under the altar of the church.

“It was an old St. Vital Roman Catholic Parish, so the diocese would have to be contacted to see what their involvement needs to be,” Leslie said.

The mayor said he’s hopeful the town will have more information by the end of summer, to decide how best to move forward with the proposal.

CAO John Enns-Wind told council he thinks the project is a “great initiative.” Enns-Wind recommended hiring a structural engineer to assess the building to determine what work needs to be done to ensure the building’s integrity.

Council expressed support for the idea, saying the museum could be a new tourist attraction for the town and the Battlefords.

Coun. Gordon Yarde said the building has historical significance as the first church in the area, so the building itself would be another draw for visitors. 

The Battleford and District Museum and Heritage Board sent a letter to the town supporting the proposal. 

“What a wonderful solution to utilize a vacant building,” Battleford and District Museum and Heritage Board Chairperson Floyd Andersen and Fred Light Museum Manager Bernadette Leslie in their letter to council.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow