The first Presbyterian services in the Olive district were held in private homes by missionaries or lay ministers who moved into the settlements. Later the services were conducted in the Louise School. The Olive district was named after Mary Olive Kelly, the wife of Robert James Warren, a pioneer of the area.
In 1899 this wood-framed Presbyterian church was built on land leased for 99 years from Augustus Buchbach on what is now the Rural Municipality of South Norfolk.
The Buchbach family was a great asset to the church since its members gave generously of their time and shared their skills with the community. In addition, the family had its own six-member orchestra and produced plays.
The church had a fine choir, a Sunday school, and a Sunday school orchestra. Its Ladies Aid Group was responsible for most of the church’s activities.
After church union in 1925 the church became Olive United. In 1958, with a final service, the congregation became part of Treherne United Church. A window there is a memorial to the pioneers of Olive United.
Olive United remained standing until 1999. Today a miniature replica of the church sits atop a stone cairn erected on July 23, 2000 to record its existence.
• Photographed in 1991.
• Published in Senior Scope, February 10, 2019.
• Included in Testaments of Faith, Manitoba’s Pioneer Churches.