Manitoba Municipal Heritage Site No. 99
This simple wood frame church is in the unincorporated community of Kola, approximately 31 kilometres (19 mi) west of Virden and three kilometres (1.9 mi) east of the Saskatchewan boundary.
It is considered to be one of the oldest churches in southwestern Manitoba having been built in 1884 by the first British settlers to arrive in the area from Ontario. Then known as the Arawana district it is now the Rural Municipality of Wallace.
A stone monument erected near the church in 1977 commemorates those early settlers.
The church is an example of early Gothic-influenced design that is reflected in such features as the small bellcote, the east window tracery, and the natural wood furnishings.
The church’s well-preserved condition is due to renovations completed under the Manitoba Prairie Churches Project of the 2000s. The project was jointly funded by the Thomas Sill Foundation and the J.M.Kaplan Fund of New York “to help identify and preserve outstanding examples of heritage churches in rural Manitoba. Kaplan provided $159,430 and (Thomas Sill) contributed $140,514 for a total of $299,944. The provincial Historic Resources Branch provided technical expertise and funds from existing programs.” The Church of the Advent in Kola was one of 37 historic churches included in the program. It received $1,000.
The church had already been designated a Municipal Heritage Site in 1993.
• Photographed in 1991.
• Published in Senior Scope, January 16, 2019.