By Angela Brown

Former St. Vital Church being considered for new museum

Apr 5, 2018 | 11:32 AM

There might be new life in the old St. Vital Church if a group moves ahead to turn the building into a museum.

The Town of Battleford is looking at the possibility of leasing the former St. Vital Church building, located on 20th Street East, next to The Fred Light Museum, to the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association.

The organization is interested in using the facility to store and display its collection of artifacts related to land survey history in the province, in what would become the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association Museum. 

“Council is quite in favour of us taking the next steps to understand – is this viable, is this something that is possible to be done with the structure of the building, and also (for) the future use of the building,” said Mayor Ames Leslie following council.

While the town owns the building, it will also need to have some discussions with the Catholic Diocese since a former priest is buried under the altar of the church.

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“It was an old St. Vital Roman Catholic Parish so the Diocese would have to be contacted to see what their involvement needs to be,” added Leslie.

The mayor said hopefully by the end of summer the town will have more information to see how it can move forward with the proposal.

CAO John Enns-Wind said to council he thinks the project is a “great initiative.”

He also recommended having a structural engineer assess the building to see what work needs to be done to ensure the building’s integrity.

The town will also first find out how much it will cost to improve the integrity of the building before the town can consider leasing it to the survey group.

Council liked the idea, saying it could be a new tourist attraction for the town and the Battlefords.

Coun. Gordon Yarde said since the building has historical significance as the first church in the area, this will also be another draw to visitors. The church is listed as a Municipal Heritage Property, dating back to1883.

Michael Waschuk, member of the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association, said in a letter to council: “there is a tremendous amount of surveying history in the Battlefords and it only makes sense to recognize it here.” 

Waschuk, who is spearheading the proposed project, said he wanted the new museum established in Battleford since it is the former capital of the Northwest Territories and the site of the original Land Registry building. 

He said he was made aware the Fred Light Museum doesn’t have room for the exhibit in its main building but the manager Bernadette Leslie thought the former church building might be a suitable site as another option.

The Land Surveyors Association is also planning to fundraise to help with the building maintenance costs.

The Battleford and District Museum and Heritage Board sent a letter to the town recommending the proposal for the new museum by the Saskatchewan Land Surveyors Association. 

“What a wonderful solution to utilize a vacant building,” said the Battleford and District Museum and Heritage Board chairperson Floyd Andersen and Fred Light Museum Manager Bernadette Leslie in their letter to council.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow