Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Helen’s Anglican Church and Cemetery (Fairford, RM of Grahamdale)

In 1842, Anglican cleric Abraham Cowley arrived at Fairford (in what what is now the Rural Municipality of Grahamdale) to establish an Anglican Church to serve the local Aboriginal people. The present St. Helen’s Anglican Church, a municipally-designated historic site (2003), dates from 1911. Restoration was done as part of the Manitoba Prairie Churches Project.

Adjacent to the church are a pair of stone monuments. One was erected in 1971 to commemorate Richard Woodhouse (1837-1902), who was first elected Chief of the Fairford Reserve on 3 August 1871, and his sons who succeeded him, Richard Woodhouse and William Woodhouse. The other monument was erected in November 1948 to commemorate local people who served during the Second World War.

Among the clerics who served at St. Helen’s was Edna Lenora Perry.

St. Helen’s Anglican Church at Fairford (August 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Aerial view of St. Helen’s Anglican Church at Fairford (June 2020) Source: George Penner St. Helen’s Anglican Church and Cemetery at Fairford (2017) Source: Manny Jacob St. Helen’s Anglican Church and Cemetery at Fairford (April 2019) Source: George Penner St. Helen’s Anglican Church at Fairford (October 2023) Source: Glen Toews Interior of St. Helen’s Anglican Church at Fairford (August 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Woodhouse memorial monument (August 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Fairford military monument (August 2012) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Fairford military and Woodhouse monuments (October 2023) Source: Glen Toews Site Coordinates (lat/long): N51.60308, W98.69998 denoted by symbol on the map above

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Abraham Cowley (1816-1887)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Municipally Designated Historic Sites

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Manitoba Prairie Churches Project / Manitoba Prairie Icons Project

Sources:

A list of burials in this cemetery is available from the Manitoba Genealogical Society, including a searchable online database available to members at the MGS Manitoba Name Index (MANI). Some additional information is contained in the 1996 MGS publication Carved in Stone: Manitoba Cemeteries and Burial Sites, revised edition, Special Projects Publication, 106 pages.

St. Helen's Anglican Church, Fairford, Manitoba Historic Resources Branch.

We thank Manny Jacob, George Penner, and Glen Toews for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 5 January 2024

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