After spending a day assessing the damage of the 4 a.m. fire that ‘engulfed’ the 142-year-old historic McDougall Church, the board of directors are hopeful to rebuild.
After spending a day assessing the damage of the 4 a.m. fire that ‘engulfed’ the 142-year-old historic McDougall Church, the board of directors are hopeful to rebuild.
“This morning I was telling everyone, ‘No way, there wasn’t a place not made of wood and this place is unsalvageable,’ ” said Sarah Harvey, who has been involved with the church for 10 years.
“Now after spending a day with the board and community, everyone is talking about rebuilding. ”
Known as the second oldest building on the original location in Alberta, the McDougall Church was
was built in 1875 by Reverend George McDougall to serve as a mission to Morley while also creating an opportunity to
establish a more permanent relationship with the Blackfoot Nation.
Restored in 1952 and designated as a historic site by the United Church of Canada and the Alberta Government in 1979, the board of directors said the staff was just gearing up to open the McDougall Church for the season.
“Driving down the 1A, you can always see the church or the steeple poking through the tree and when I was driving this morning I couldn’t see the church at all - I knew it was bad, ” Harvey said.
“It was horrifying. I still feel sick about it. ”
Firefighters responded to the call on May 22 at approximately 4 a.m. with four trucks, two from Exshaw and two from Jamieson Road, said Al Hogarth, Exshaw Firefighter
who was one of the first to respond to the scene.
“The church was completely engulfed … there were four walls left sort of standing, ” Hogarth said.
“It’s pretty sad - it was a (historic) structure and now it’s gone. ”
The Reeve of the MD of Bighorn and Cochrane RCMP officers offered condolences Monday afternoon.
“This is a huge loss to the history and culture of the MD and the province of Alberta, ” Dene Cooper, reeve to the MD of Bighorn said in a press release.
“The Church and Morleyville Mission played a huge role in the early settlement of Western Canada. ”
Harvey said after spending a day of hearing stories of hope and being flooded with offers of help, the board is look at “what’s next. ”
“Where do we go from here … everyone is heartbroken and sad but we have lots of people reaching out and asking how to rebuild, ” Harvey said.
“There is all this hope coming out of nowhere. ”
Harvey is asking anyone who wants more information or asking how to help to contact her as 403-404-8717.
The McDougall Church is located approximately 28 kilometres west of Cochrane.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown and still under investigation.
