The community of Grand Marais on Lake Winnipeg is at the base of, and named after, Grand Marais Point. It is west of Pine Falls in the Rural Municipality of St. Clements.
Recorded history of the area begins in the early 1730s with the arrival of French explorer Pierre Gaultier de Varennes de la Verendrye and the fur traders. But indigenous peoples had lived there long before then.
In the early 1800s families of Cree, and mixed Cree and Scottish/English heritage, migrated from northern communities to the Red River Settlement. During the latter part of the 19th century the migrants were Poles, Ukrainians and Russians from the east.
In 1891 each of the brothers-in-law, George Rupert and Alexander Knott, both of Native American and European descent, donated an acre of land for a church and cemetery. The church was built in 1896, in an unusual manner. The foundation was of fieldstone and mortar. The walls were of squared and dovetailed black poplar logs, sheathed on the outside with wooden panels painted white. Alex Kennedy, reputedly the best at hand sawing logs, was one of the crew of five builders.
The interior was heated by a wood-burning stove for which members of the congregation took turns collecting and chopping wood. The pews, holy table and shelves were made by James (Jim) Raven, a Native American carpenter from Scanterbury. This after he had lost one of his arms.
In 1914 Canon George Smith of St. Peter’s helped with events to raise funds for an organ.
St. Jude’s underwent several changes in the 1930s. A chancel sanctuary with a stained glass window donated by Mrs. Margaret Linklater was added to the north end. Two vestry rooms were also added. The tower with its large cross, and the porch, were replaced with a front porch and square belfry on a concrete foundation. The bell, said to be from the first fire hall in Winnipeg, came via the Grand Marais Cement School (1913-14).
The church was closed in 1963 when the congregation moved. For a while after it was opened on request. For three years from 1970 on it was a local museum. The Friends of Old St. Jude, a community group, has worked to restore the church and have it designated an official heritage site.
The roof has been reshingled and the exterior repainted.
• Photographed in 2009.
• Published in Senior Scope, August 10,2019.