Historic Sites of Manitoba: Victoria Methodist Church / Victoria United Church (103 Souris Street, Melita)

Link to:
Clerics | Photos & Coordinates | Sources

On 10 August 1897, a cornerstone for the Victoria Methodist Church in Melita was laid by Reeve George L. Dodds and Mrs. J. C. Switzer, wife of the pastor. It contained an account of the ceremony, names of participants, a Bible, Methodist hymn book, a copy of the Methodist discipline, copies of local newspapers, and postcards and stamps commemorating the Jubilee of Queen Victoria, for whom the church was named. It became Victoria United Church when the Methodist and Presbyterian congregations merged in June 1925 and a new cornerstone was placed alongside the first one. A front addition was made in 1970.

A commemorative tablet inside the church, listing parishioners killed during service in the First World War, was unveiled on 11 April 1920 by MLA John Williams and Secretary T. W. Norris of the Great War Veterans Association.

Clerics

Period	Cleric
1896-1899	Rev. A. J. Switzer
1899	Rev. S. P. Riddell
1899-1902	Rev. Fred Buckley
1902-1906	Rev. H. Lewis
1906-1910	Rev. S. T. Robson
1910-1913	Rev. C. E. Somerset
1913-1917	Rev. A. E. Parsons
1917-1921	Rev. A. E. Maunders
1921-1925	Ernest Howard Smith (1882-1940)
1925-1931	Rev. P. E. Scott
1931-1936	Frederick William Lee (1880-1974)
1936-1940	Rev. P. E. Jones
1940-1941	Rev. T. W. Bailey
1941-1943	Rev. W. J. Reid
1943-1947	Rev. A. E. Passmore
1947-1950	Rev. John McDonald
1950	Rev. D. L. Gordon
1950-1951	Rev. David D. R. Patterson
1951-1952	Rev. N. Watson
1952-1953	Rev. G. W. Tyndale
1953-1954	Rev. S. H. Brown
1954-1957	Rev. Ian McMillan
1957-1960	Rev. J. Wiznuck
1960-1965	George Henry Hambley (1896-1983)
1965-1967	Rev. J. Murray Lake
1967-1970	Donald Alexander “Don” Robertson (1935-2019)
1970-1973	Rev. John Butters
1975-1980	Rev. J. Clark Saunders
1980-?	Rev. Doug Jones

Photos & Coordinates

Victoria United Church (July 2018) Source: George Penner Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.27165, W100.99027 denoted by symbol on the map above

First World War Casualties

Name	Occupation	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
George Ernest Booker [Melita]	Farmer	8th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	22 March 1891	31 August 1918
Edgar William Brook [Melita, Melita School]	Farmer	16th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	23 March 1890	8 October 1916
Russell Brown [Melita]	Teamster	102nd Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	31 May 1885	9 January 1917
Wilfred Maurice Holden [Melita, Melita School, Next of Kin, Union Bank]	Bank Clerk (Union Bank of Canada)	1st Canadian Mounted Rifles	Private	25 November 1895	20 August 1917
Franklin Robert Kelly [Melita, Melita School, Vimy Ridge]	Farmer	44th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	19 February 1896	11 May 1917
William Edgar Lamport [Melita]	Rancher	2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles	Sergeant	21 June 1887	29 September 1918
Robert Priddle [Melita]	Engineer	9th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Sergeant	25 November 1877	25 January 1916
Charles Arthur Steventon [Melita]	Farmer	78th Battalion, Canadian Infantry	Private	4 May 1884	9 April 1917

See also:

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Melita United Church Manse (79 Ash Street, Melita)

Sources:

“Memorial Service: Tablet in Honor of Meltia’s Fallen Soldiers,” Manitoba Free Press, 15 April 1920, page 18.

Our First Century: Town of Melita and Municipality of Arthur by Melita-Arthur History Committee, 1983, pages 96-98.

We thank Orville Renwick for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by George Penner, Darryl Toews, and Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 19 March 2023

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