Rebuild Historic McDougall Church

My children Hayden & Meagan (Orr) Sikina were married at the church 5/23/2015, along with may many other people who have fond memories throughout the years (142 years old) -  Unfortunately due to fire the structure has been reduced to rubble.
We are a strong community - I spoke with a board member of the church & felt compelled to do something to support our community, so many people have reached out with their stories & memories, I believe a replica of the building may be built or some type of interprative centre to notate the history of the site .
There has been a outpour of people wanting to help & donate.
check out the Facebook site
Old Mcdougall Church Cochrane
to post your story & photos, or send them to me & I will forward them on to the coordinator.
I spoke to the events coordinator Sarah & she shared how so many people visited the site yesterday - people from the Stoney Reserve - couples who were married there reminiscing sharing their stories -wanting to help out, so much community support -a local church came forward to donated pews, a piano was donated a venue for displaced wedding parties - now we need a church!

*Donations can also be made at any ATB Financial (Alberta Treasury Branch)

There is a service scheduled on site for
Sunday June 11/2017 at 3pm

Mark your calendar & hope to see you there if you'd like to attend!

Thank You in Advance with your help we will build the Church
Iris Sikina

SOME HISTORIC FACTS
The McDougall Stoney Mission Church was built in
1875 and stands as the oldest building on the original site in Alberta.

From a very high Foot Hill we gazed on this prospect with admiration and wonder. Within three miles stood the grand old mountain, the wild goat and sheep sporting on its highest summit. At the foot of the hill, and in perfect ignorance of our presence, a band of buffalo were feeding on the richest pasture. To the right of us, and on the north bank of the river, lay the location which we have selected for our new mission. [Reverend George McDougall, May 28, 1873]
Travelling the 1A Highway between Cochrane and Exshaw, you will see a small white church sitting on 40 acres of natural grassland, overlooking the Bow River Valley and the Rocky Mountains. This is the site of Southern Alberta's first settlement, Morleyville.

At its peak, Morlelyville was home to over 200 people.Today a remnant of the settlement is a provincial historic site. The McDougall Stoney Mission Society are stewards of the site.

The mandate of the society is to promote a greater understanding of the story of the Morleyville Settlement and its place in the history of Alberta and Canada through the interpretation of the site to the public.