4703 Kootenay St
Corner of Victoria Ave & Kootenay Street Windermere, BC

St. Peter’s Church

also known as “The Stolen Church”

The picturesque red-roofed St. Peter’s Anglican church was built by “Father Pat,” Rev. Henry Irwin. in 1887 in the town of Donald, near Golden. It was consecrated on February 24, 1889, by Bishop Shillitoe.

In 1897, when the CPR railroad moved its service yards from Donald to Revelstoke, the church was dismantled with the intention of it also being moved to Revelstoke. Having relocated from Donald to Windermere, the Kimpton family arranged to have the dismantled church stolen from the rail yards, transported by wagon and riverboat and then reassembled in Windermere. Located at the northeast corner of Victoria Avenue and Kootenay Street, the church is administered by the Windermere Valley Shared Ministry and the Diocese of Kootenay.

Windermere residents provide lawn care, plant window boxes and maintain the building. Church services are held monthly in the summer and on Christmas Eve.

The church is also popular for weddings, with a capacity of 90-100 people. For information on services or using the church for weddings, please contact the Windermere Valley Shared Ministry’s office at Christ Church Trinity in Invermere.

In the churchyard is a marker to the memory of Reverend Henry Irwin, affectionately known as “Father Pat.” The inscription reads:

IN MEMORIAM

FATHER PAT
REV. HENRY IRWIN
1860 – 1902
FIRST ANGLICAN MISSIONARY
IN THE KOOTENAYS
WHO BUILT THE FIRST CHURCH
IN THE ROCKIES.
THIS STONE WAS ERECTED
BY OLDTIMERS
1932
“All things to all men”