Introduction / Families / Stevenson / George Stevenson and Charlotte Corrigal / Charlotte Stevenson and Robert Reid / John Flaws Reid and Ida Estalla Rae Rendall / The York Colony

The Orkney Church

In the first years of the Orkney settlement in the York Colony church services were held in homes or the school, or settlers went into Yorkton where services were held in the boarding house. In 1890 minutes of the Orkney Congregation were recorded. In 1893 the church board set up a committee to inquire into the cost and selection of a building site for a church. The York Farmers’ Colonization Company donated an acre of land for the church building. The settlers decided almost immediately to start building the church and the cornerstone was laid June 10, 1893. The church was built of stone: the building committee decided to use stone instead of wood because the increased cost was not that great. This was called Orkney Presbyterian Church. Woodwork inside and the pulpit were done by William Rendall (father in law of John Flaws Reid). The church was built in six months, but the dedication was held on the first anniversary of laying the cornerstone.

The church was used regularly for religious services for many years. From the beginning concerts were held there. It was used as a school briefly in 1897 while a new school was being built. At some point the church became the Orkney United Church. In 1939 the church was used as a classroom, but religious services continued to be held from time to time. When a new school was built in Orcadia in 1958, the church building was unused for several years until it was restored in 1963. The first wedding was not held there until 1975 because weddings were traditionally held in homes. The building is still standing and has been declared a historic site.