By Tyler Marr

Seniors advocate troubled over proposed future of Nisbet Church

Nov 15, 2017 | 11:00 AM

In 1872, Reverend James Nisbet set up a missionary in the heart of the prairies and named it after Queen Victoria’s deceased husband, Prince Albert. The man built the Nisbet Church and used it as the first church and schoolhouse for the area.

The 145-year-old building has deteriorated and now the future of the heritage structure in Kinsmen Park is up for debate during 2018 budget deliberations. Proposed is a move to gradually takedown and store historically valuable pieces of the building, but this is not sitting well among one local advocacy group. 

The Prince Albert Seniors Advocacy Group, headed by Dr. John Fryters, believed not enough has been done to preserve the structure and called the scheme “kind of shortsighted.”

“The church is one of the last links to the past,” Fryters said. “The city was started by Reverend Nisbet and that was his church. Many of the things that happened with the settlers were centred around that church.”

The plea for protection of what is believed to be the second oldest church in Saskatchewan and the oldest school between the Red River and Alberta foothills, came after the senior’s group received a history lesson about the area.

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During a presentation, it was noted $10,000 was earmarked in this year’s budget for the gradual dismantling of the building.

“European cities and cities all across the world are taking pride in their heritage and restoring buildings and restoring their downtown cores, so why can’t we do that?” he asked. “It would be like Pisa deciding to take down the [Leaning] Tower of Pisa… or Paris taking apart the Eiffel Tower and saving a few beams.”

Fryters said he had spoken with many community members and city councillors who were likewise uneasy with the proposition.

But the decision, according to Curator Michelle Taylor of the Historical Museum, came after a recent engineering study of the structures showed a restoration of the property would come with a price tag of around $750,000. Both buildings are currently closed to the public because of structural concerns.

“We just don’t have that money,” Taylor said.

The Historical Society asked city administration to help dismantle the church on their terms. During this process, the group would pull historical aspects, such as the gun ports, from the building and place them on display.

The move would be a joint partnership between the city and the Historical Society.

“You don’t always need the whole building to tell the story,” Taylor added. 

The recommendation will likely come up for debate during budget deliberations this month.

tyler.marr@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JournoMarr