Autre nom(s)
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Liens et documents
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Date(s) de construction
1912/01/01 à 1912/12/31
Inscrit au répertoire canadien:
2005/03/18
Énoncé d'importance
Description du lieu patrimonial
Bethesda Lutheran Church is a Municipal Heritage Property located west of the Town of Milestone in the Rural Municipality of Caledonia No. 99. Situated on a grassy 0.4 hectare parcel that is surrounded by cultivated fields, this property features a wood-frame church that was constructed in 1912 and a cemetery.
Valeur patrimoniale
The heritage value of Bethesda Lutheran Church resides in the property’s association with the religious history of Caledonia Rural Municipality Number 99. Many of the settlers in this rural area originated in the United States, but were of Norwegian descent. Norwegian Lutheran services were held as early as 1904, and in 1910 the Bethesda Norwegian Lutheran congregation was organized. In 1912, Martin Johnson, a carpenter from South Dakota, was retained to construct Bethesda Lutheran Church with the assistance of the congregation. Situated on an open parcel, the graceful steeple of this church can be seen for miles across the flat prairie landscape. Modernized in 1928 with a concrete basement and furnace, the church served the surrounding rural community for church services, weddings, funerals, meetings and bazaars. Many of the area’s first settlers rest in the cemetery, which is located at the rear of the church. Because of a steadily diminishing congregation, Bethesda Lutheran Church closed in 1973.
Heritage value of Bethesda Lutheran Church also lies in its architecture. Like many rural churches in Saskatchewan, Bethesda displays a Gothic influence illustrated by the pointed arch-windows and centrally-placed tower that incorporates the main entrance. Graceful in its detailing, the bell tower includes a bell-cast base, decorative gables and eight-sided spire. Interior architectural features emphasize the generous proportions of this heritage property and present an air of simple elegance. One key element of the church interior is the pressed copper tile that lines the vaulted ceiling and top part of the walls. Decorative columns frame the raised church sanctuary, which features an ornate carved altarpiece that is encircled by a matching chancel rail and an elegant raised pulpit.
Source:
Rural Municipality of Caledonia No. 99 Bylaw No. 1/85.
Éléments caractéristiques
The heritage value of Bethesda Lutheran Church resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements that speak to association of the building with the community, including the siting of the church on its original location, surrounded by an open, grassed lot;
-the maintained greenspace and headstones of the cemetery;
-those exterior features that reflect the graceful design of the church such as the steeply-pitched roof, the entrance tower, the eight-sided steeple, and the double-globe lightning rod;
-those interior features that reflect the elegant architecture of the church such as the pressed copper tiles that line the interior ceilings and walls, the broadly-curving line of the vaulted ceiling, the large carved altarpiece, the semi-circular altar rail, and the ornate, raised pulpit.
Reconnaissance
Juridiction
Saskatchewan
Autorité de reconnaissance
Administrations locales (Sask.)
Loi habilitante
Heritage Property Act, alinéa 11(1)(a)
Type de reconnaissance
Bien patrimonial municipal
Date de reconnaissance
1985/04/02
Données sur l'histoire
Date(s) importantes
1928/01/01 à 1928/12/31
1973/01/01 à 1973/12/31
Thème - catégorie et type
- Établir une vie sociale et communautaire
- Les institutions religieuses
Catégorie de fonction / Type de fonction
Actuelle
- Religion, rituel et funéraille
- Site funéraire, cimetière ou enclos
Historique
- Religion, rituel et funéraille
- Centre religieux ou lieu de culte
Architecte / Concepteur
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Constructeur
Johnson, Martin
Informations supplémentaires
Emplacement de la documentation
Department of Culture, Youth and Recreation
Heritage Resources Branch
1919 Saskatchewan Drive Regina, SK
File: MHP 885
Réfère à une collection
Identificateur féd./prov./terr.
MHP 885
Statut
Édité
Inscriptions associées
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