33) Lewis Roman Catholic Church

Lewis Roman Catholic Church

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The Lewis area was settled by predominantly French Catholic families. In 1924, a frame house was purchased in Lewis and moved 1⁄2 mile south beside the trail to Elma to be used for as a Roman Catholic Church. Father Pailler visited the new church for services, as he had done in private homes in the past. He would visit, arriving on the CNR train about every two months. Improvements were made to the church over the years, including a basement. The church gradually died, becoming inactive around 1960. The building sat idle for more than 15 years, and was moved away around 1977. A blue cross mark where the church once stood. There are two unmarked graves in the churchyard, now overgrown with trees. Lewis is located near the western boundary of the RM of Whitemouth along the CNR tracks. Until the late 1940s the only access to Lewis was by rail or winter road. By 1952 a mud grade road was built from Elma, only useful in dry weather. Later an all-weather road that is known as old highway 15 was constructed. Lewis was a thriving community around 1919, with around 100, mostly French families in the area. A store was opened in a log building about 1921, and a post office in 1935. The store, owned and operated by the Zadorozny family for many years closed in 1974, and the post office closed in 1978.

Additional Details

Civic Number: N/A; Off Lewis Road   l    Amenities on Site: N/A   l    Building on Site: No