From the Grace Church 75th Anniversary booklet, 1943, written by Rev. W.G. Martin:

The Mother Church of Methodism in Western Canada

THE BIRTH OF A CITY

It is a thrilling bit of Canadian history which tells of a land once the haunt of the buffalo and the domain of the Indian becoming, within a few generations, a great centre of civilization. Such is the romantic story of the Canadian Northwest - and the best is yet to be.

The first white man in Manitoba was Pierre Esprit Radison, discoverer of the upper reaches of the Missisippi. Later, in 1788 La Verendrye arrived at the Forks of the Red and the Assiniboine, and what is Winnipeg today was a village of ten Cree lodges. Here the explorer built his Fort Rouge. Long before the coming of La Verendrye the Hudson's Bay Company had been pushing down from the Bay and spreading across the great West, but not without a fierce struggle against opposing interests.

The Nor'westers built their Fort Gibraltar in 1806 and made it the headquarters of their trade. Lord Selkirk brought his Scottish settlers down through Hudson Bay to the Red River in 1812 and to their hardships as pioneers in a new world was added the hostility of the men who wanted to keep the country wild and who would not admit the Hudson's Bay Company's ownership of the land sold to Selkirk. The settlement was destroyed and at the Battle of Seven Oaks, Robert Semple, Hudson's Bay company governor, was killed. In 1817 the colony was restored and in 1821 the two enemy companies settled their differences by amalgamating. Fort Garry was built on the site of Fort Gibraltar a year later.

This brief outline of history would be incomplete without a reference to the union of the Red River Settlement with Canada. John Black, pioneer Presbyterian missionary to the west, writing to his brother in Scotland, discusses the union movement in these words: "I do not know whether Canadian annexation will much better them. However, it looks as if the time was come for a change, and if we suffer some inconvenience during the transition period, perhaps 'the good time coming' may compensate for all. I have taken no part for or against the movement. I do not think it is good for ministers to jump into the maelstrom of politics. Let them stop till they are pushed in. I have my views and preferences, but in the meantime I am better pleased to be out."

Some of the people of the Red River at that time petitioned the American Government asking it to "annex the Red River territory to the United States, and promising assistance against the Hudson's Bay Company in case
of war."

A counter-proposal made to "The President of the Executive Council, Toronto, Canada," was signed by "Roderick Kennedy and 574 others," reciting their grievances and appealing for reception by Canada. The petition says: "We love the British name! We are proud of that glorious fabric, the British Constitution, raised by the wisdom, cemented and hallowed by the blood of our forefathers..... It will be seen, therefore, that we have no other choice than the Canadian plough and printing press, or the American rifle and fugitive slave law."

So it came to pass that the negotiations between Canada and the Hudson's Bay Company proved favourable. The wide fields of the Northwest were to become Canadian, and a million and a half of dollars were to make up the loss to the veteran company. Hon. William McDougall was chosen as first Governor and was sent by way of Minnesota and Dakota to his new vice-royalty. All this took place within the few years preceding the arrival of Dr. George Young.

In October, 1869, a company of French halfbreeds took possession of the Queen's highway, some nine miles south of Fort Garry, and proposed to prevent Mr. McDougall, the new Governor, entering the colony.

Louis Riel, the dictator leader, led the halfbreeds who were afraid of losing their lands in the surge of development, and captured the fort. An expeditionary force under Colonel Wolseley arrived the following year to find that Riel had fled to the United States. The rebellion broke out again, farther west, in Saskatchewan, in 1885 and resulted in Riel's execution.

Winnipeg in 1868 when the Methodist Mission, which developed into Grace Church, was organized, was a tiny settlement boasting of a few hundred people. Yet such was the spirit and faith of the people that in 1873, six years after Confederation and three years after the Province of Manitoba had been created, Winnipeg was incorporated as a city. It is interesting to note that the city was named after Lake Winnipeg, an inland water larger than Lake Ontario. Mr. James H. Ashdown, a name long associated with Grace Church, was the father of the city, and it was his perseverance which won out in the bitter legislative battle which ensued when certain influences sought to keep the child "Winnipeg" in swaddling clothes.

PIONEERING THE GOSPEL

Among the great pioneers who fashioned the epic story of our Canadian History, stands a valiant servant of God - Dr. George young, an intrepid missionary who organized religious services in the small community of Fort Garry in the year 1868. It is said that the community boasted two-score houses, one hundred persons, three trading posts, several saloons, but until the coming of Dr. Young there was no church or school house. I have seen a picture of those early days and the characters depicted indicated the need of the Christian missionary and his influence. The first services were held in a small building on Notre Dame Avenue, then in the Court House, a primitive log building just outside the walls of Fort Garry, and again in a rented building on Portage Avenue near Main Street, which was called Wesley Hall. The missionary and his family lived in the upper rooms, and services were begun on December 14, 1868. This was the first Wesley Hall. An acre of land was donated by the Hudson's Bay Company, and Dr. George Young and his family moved into this Wesley Hall, No. 2, on August 17, 1869. A class meeting was held the same day, and the missionary preached on the following Sunday, August 22nd, from the text, "Hitherto the Lord hath helped us." At High Bluff, the first class meeting was established. On September 17, 1871, the first Grace Church was opened for public worship. Dr. Young's chief helper in all his building enterprises was J.H. Ashdown, Esq., and with him, in some of the work, were Messrs. Norquay and Smith of High Bluff, and Colonel Kennedy of Winnipeg. The stained glass windows that adorned the church, charmed the Indians who came from the far north, and as the sun shone through the windows they shouted, "The sunrise! The sunrise!"

In 1875 Capt. Wm. Robinson came to Winnipeg and immediately united with the first church. From that time forward Capt. Robinson was one of the leaders in all the great enterprises of Grace congregation. n 1877 under the ministry of Rev. John F. German, the church building was enlarged. The increase of the population necessitated the erection of a third structure, and this served until the present Grace Church was built in 1883. It was fitting that the great cathedral of Methodism in Western Canada should be dedicated by Dr. Young.

A number of Winnipeg churches look upon Grace as their parent.

Admin Note: this transcription to be completed at a later date. Churches described are: Zion Church, Wesley Church, McDougall Memorial Church, Fort Rouge Church, Young Church, and Broadway Church. The article then describes Grace Church's role in higher education in the district, at Wesley College.