Description of Historic Place

Saint Paul's Evangelical Church is a Municipal Heritage Property occupying two civic lots in the Town of Rosthern. The property features a one-storey, Gothic-influenced, wood-frame church with central bell tower, which was completed in 1902.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of Saint Paul's Evangelical Church lies in the integral role it has played in Rosthern's religious community over the past century. In 1900, the Canada Conference of the Evangelical Association sent their first missionary to Saskatchewan to establish headquarters at Rosthern. Once he arrived, the local congregation held temporary church services in the schoolhouse and, in November 1901, construction began on Saint Paul's Evangelical Church. Completed in February 1902, the wood-frame building with horizontal siding reflects a Gothic Revival style of architecture with pointed-arch, stained glass windows, steeply-pitched roof, and central, crenellated, bell tower, which houses the original bell and is flanked by two vestibules. In later years, regular maintenance and upgrades to the church saw the sanctuary finished in wood-grain panelling, the addition of new light fixtures, and the high, arched ceiling covered in tile, which provided the church with excellent acoustics. Although it no longer provides weekly services, Saint Paul's Evangelical Church continues to be valued for its 94 years of service to the congregation and to Rosthern's religious community.

Source:

Town of Rosthern Bylaw No. 9015.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of Saint Paul's Evangelical Church resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those features that reflect its Gothic Revival style of architecture, such as the pointed-arch, stained glass windows, steeply-pitched roof, central bell tower with original bell and flanked by vestibules;
-those features that speak to its on-going use in the community, such as the wood-grain panelling, high, arched ceiling covered in tile, and light fixtures.