St. Helen’s Anglican Church

In 1842, Anglican cleric Abraham Cowley arrived at Fairford (in what what is now the Rural Municipality of Grahamdale) to establish an Anglican Church to serve the local Aboriginal people. The present St. Helen’s Anglican Church, a municipally-designated historic site, dates from 1911. Restoration was done as part of the Manitoba Prairie Churches Project.

Adjacent to the church are a pair of stone monuments. One was erected in 1971 to commemorate Richard Woodhouse (1837-1902), who was first elected Chief of the Fairford Reserve on 3 August 1871, and his sons who succeeded him, Richard Woodhouse and William Woodhouse. The other monument was erected in November 1948 to commemorate local people who served during the Second World War.

Play Manitoba By Motorcycle and collect points at the monument! Upload your photo to EatSleepRIDE by selecting the ESR logo from the tab bar and tapping the Pencil icon (iOS) or blue plus icon (Android).

Photo: Gordon Goldsborough