Description of Historic Place

Peace Lutheran Church, constructed in 1924, is a picturesque 1 1/2-storey vernacular wood-frame structure at Chatfield in Manitoba's Interlake region. The municipal designation applies to the church and its lot.

Heritage Value

Peace Lutheran Church is a good representative of the kind of unpretentious, purposeful houses of worship that were erected in rural Manitoba in the early 1900s. Its simple massing, straightforward finishes and unassuming flavour speak to its utilitarian nature and purity in worship, attributes that served more than one community and faith over the years. Built under the supervision of Bishop Paul Markovic as the Polish National Apostolic Church at Libau, the structure was relocated and reused as St. Luke's Lutheran Church in East Selkirk, then as Peace Lutheran Church in the Fraserwood area. The extensively restored facility is now part of the Chatfield Museum where it continues to welcome visitors and worshippers alike.

Source: Rural Municipality of Armstrong By-law No. 6/99, June 8, 1999

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the pioneer heritage character of the Peace Lutheran Church site include:
- the building's location in a rural area, amongst treed and grassed grounds

Key elements that define the church's simple vernacular appearance include:
- the 1 1/2-storey rectangular nave denoted by a gable roof, which meets the hipped expanse of the three-sided apse, both with cedar shingles
- the symmetrical facades with horizontal wood siding and trim of historically accurate colours
- the pointed arch stained-glass windows throughout, featuring wooden tracery and wooden surrounds
- the details, including the wooden Latin cross mounted on the front gable end, the wooden double entrance doors, etc.

Key elements that define the church's interior layout, finishes and details include:
- the small formal plan composed of the centre-aisle nave and raised three-sided sanctuary containing the pulpit and altar
- the wooden plank floors and the walls and ceiling of tentest
- the details, finishes and intact furnishings, including a coved ceiling above the altar, the walls meeting the ceiling seamlessly with rounded joints, the simple wainscotting, the utilitarian wooden pews, etc.