Mission to Locate the Brush HIll Church
A while back I went on a quest to find the Brush Hill Reformed Church near Vegreville, Alberta, with no success.
I had a great drive out anyway but was disappointed to miss my chance of taking photographs of this weathered church that I had seen online.
So when Terry and I decided to take advantage of the nicest weather for the week and go on another drive/audiobook/picnic adventure I suggested heading East and taking our GPS.
The drive was once again lovely and our audiobook is so darn good. (check out “The Cactus”). At first we also had no success in locating this mysterious area but as you can see we were eventually successful and I really am happy with the photos I captured of this iconic building.
This is what I found from “Off the Beaten Path with Chris and Connie”…..
Most settlers came to the immediate area in the early 1910s. A number came here from Germany. It’s those who built Brush Hill Reformed, completing it in 1916. It’s of simple construction, not so much plain, but uncomplicated, humble and anything but pretentious. It shares features common to country churches, rectangular form with a prominent bell tower, moderately pitched, shingled roof and walls that hold arched windows. It’s aligned perfectly in an east/west direction. The building creaks in the wind but seems solid. Warmed by early morning sun, mist rises from it.
The church remained in use until the late 1980s or thereabout – records aren’t completely clear – when declining membership forced its closure. Rural areas are losing people fast so this it’s hardly a surprise. Old timers die off and the young ones flee to the city.
Since then the church has been boarded up. The interior is completely empty. We suspect the bell has been removed. An historic marker was erected on the site after closing – “Cairn erected July 1995 in memory of the Pioneers who built the Brush Hill Reformed Church in 1916 on this site.”
After I took many photos while bracing myself and holding onto my hat in the strong wind we left to go see the one room schoolhouse down the road . Terry said it is identical to the one he attended in Ontario when he was a boy.
It was a photographer’s dream yesterday to have great skies and warm weather. And just a few more yards down the road I spotted an old, abandoned house peeking out through the trees so we stopped to check that out too.
As I was stumbling along trying to make my way through the uneven grasses and bushes to the front of the house,Terry was already at the other side when a huge bird flew and right near his head! There was probably a nest in there Terry thinks. It is fascinating to me how many folks just leave these buildings behind to decay and eventually cave into the ground. I love taking photographs of them as a way to preserve their memories in a way and capture their beauty and dignity before their final bow.