Hazeltons On-line
Smithers/Telkwa On-line
Houston/Topley On-line
Gransle On-line
Burns Lake On-line

PAGE ONE
OF THREE

HomeSearch past articles

Houston's Heritage Goes for a Drive
by Debi Osborne

It is 15 years away from being a century old and it has its problems but after numerous engineer reports and inspections, the first Houston Anglican Church was proclaimed structurally sound enough to be moved. On October 12, 2000, it was taken from its grounds on Butler Avenue and treated to a scenic drive through town to end up at its new resting place on Highway 16.
The First Anglican Church, now declared a Heritage Building, is paraded down Highway 16
In 1913, the first passenger rail car chugged its way through Houston and the community began to grow almost overnight. The Women's Auxiliary in Hazelton raised a large donation of $1,000 to build an Anglican Church in an new area opened up by the railway. It was decided that Houston would be the place for the new church.

Archbishop Du Vernet planned to build a "mission house" where a minister could live as well as hold services. When long-time resident Harry Davis donated two acres of land on Butler Avenue, builder Nels Svenson got to work and the first service was held by Rev. Crarey in December 1916.
The Mission House, built in 1916
That same year, the first schoolhouse was also built on "Davis-donated" land on Butler Avenue. Houston now had one hotel, one mission home, one schoolhouse, and three official residences. The Anglican Mission House remained a home/parish until renovations began, around 1949, to turn it into a church.

By 1953, interior walls had been removed, the ceiling raised 18 inches and a bell tower complete with a bell from an old CN steam locomotive was added. It was renamed the "St. Clement Anglican Church."

Hazeltons On-line
Smithers/Telkwa On-line
Houston/Topley On-line
Gransle On-line
Burns Lake On-line
copyright © 2001, Northwest Design, Smithers, B.C., Canada