The first priest to serve in the Church was the Church of England itinerant missionary Rev. E. Paske Smith, who held the first church service in Old St. Paul’s on Sunday, September 27th, 1885.
The first child to be baptised in the Church was Mary Ethel Eleanor Herione Lloyd, which occurred on November 2nd, 1885.
The first internment in the cemetery attached to St. Paul’s Church occurred on May 9, 1886 of Kate McDonald Gibb of Calgary. Also interred in the cemetery are the legendary Anglican churchman, Rev. Archdeacon J.W. Timms and his wife, the famous horse wrangler Edward “Wild Horse” Johnson, and many early pioneers of the Midnapore District.
The Church had no incumbent priest until Rev. H.W. Gibben Stocken became the parish priest in May 1888 and the first church officers were elected at a meeting on Friday October 9th, 1888. At this meeting, the erection of a horse shed adjacent to the church was authorized. The cost of the horse shed was $53.59 paid to the Eau Claire and Bow River Lumber Co. and $20.00 for labour paid to Neil MacMillan.
We are looking for volunteers to assist with researching and documenting the timeline of the Historic Church. If this sounds like a perfect project for you, please contact us!