The use of the word “stream” as a generic term is common in eastern Canada. It is unusual in Manitoba.
The community of Golden Stream, southeast of Neepawa, was in what is now the Rural Municipality of West Lake – Gladstone. It was presumably named after a stream flowing into Dead Creek.
Previously known as Pine Creek, Golden Stream was recognised as a new settlement in 1874. It was first recorded on a map in 1876. The Post Office opened in 1879, closed in 1898, reopened in 1899, and then closed permanently in 1955.
Both Methodists and Presbyterians worked together to build the Church of the Union Station of Golden and Silver Stream. It was opened in November 1889 by a Divine Service conducted by Rev. Peter Wright of Portage la Prairie.
The understanding was that Methodist and Presbyterian services would alternate in the building, but the arrangement did not last. So the church came to be known as Golden Stream Presbyterian Church, until 1924 when it became Golden Stream United Church. Some clerics who served there were Rev. Stalker, Rev. Munro, George Dickson, Rev. Pogue, and Rev. Arvon Keating.
The church was closed for a few years from the late 1920s to 1933. The final service in the church was on May 10, 1970.
After the church closed the building was bought by Murray McConnell, a local resident. He maintained the building as a local landmark with a guest book and a miniature model of the church.
The building has long been abandoned, but in 2012 the replica was still intact inside.
• Photographed in 1991.
• Included in Testaments of Faith, Manitoba’s Pioneer Churches.
• Published in Senior Scope, April 10, 2020.