Municipal Heritage Site No. 243
Cartwright was originally Badger Creek, a village about a mile (1.6 km) north of its present location south of Killarney. In 1883-1885 the community moved to the Canadian Pacific railway site which belonged to Sir Richard Cartwright, federal Minister of Finance from 1873 to 1878.
Christ Church Anglican was built 1898 by stonemason Samuel Hossack (1829-1913) and his sons. Mr. Hossack was born in Scotland. He came from southern Ontario and lived in a homestead in what is now Killarney.
This fieldstone church in the English Gothic style is similar to several others built around the turn of the century. Today, it is one of the few of its kind remaining.
The church was extensively damaged by a fire in 1910. The after-fire renovations included addition of a vestibule and stained glass windows. These were subsequently removed: the windows in 2004, the vestibule in 2008.
In 2003 Christ Church Anglican was designated a Municipal Heritage Site. It also received $30,000 through the Prairie Rural Churches Project. But in 2004 the church was deemed unsafe and had to be closed.
An intensive fundraising campaign followed. By early the following year $50,000 had been raised through pledges and donations. Meanwhile the estimated cost had risen to $300,000, up from the initial $180,000. Nevertheless, the church received financial support from several sources. These included, among others, current and former residents (from six provinces, the United States and Great Britain), churches and church associations, foundations, and government grants.
Christ Church Anglican now has twice-monthly services conducted by a visiting priest. Other activities are initiated by the residents. Inside the church is a visitors’ book and a collection plate. Outside, the tree (seen in the photograph) is gone. A war memorial stands on the median of the street in front.
There are four churches in Cartwright and vicinity. In 2016 the population of Cartwright was 352.
• Photographed in 1994.
• Published in Senior Scope, March 10, 2020.
• Included in Testaments of Faith, Manitoba’s Pioneer Churches.