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A Brief History
Originally christened Westphalia, the settlement surrounding St. Boniface was founded as a German Catholic settlement on August 9, 1910 by Peter Gans, Lewis Flath, Matt Bartholet and Joe Groppe.
Looking for a place where he could forge a German Catholic agricultural colony, Peter Gans was drawn toward the highly publicized Peace Country, with its ideal set-up for group settlement, in 1910.
En-route to the Peace, he met Lewis Flath, another German Catholic of the same mindset, and the two traveled the trail from Edmonton to Grande Prairie, not by ox cart or caboose, but by bicycle.
Finding the ideal location, the first four quarters of the settlement were filed for literally the minute they were surveyed. Peter Gans then utilized the “West Canada” magazine, an Oblate publication, to invite German Roman Catholics to join this new and promising settlement.
In 1911 surnames such as Caspar, Kramer, Boehme and Konshak appeared on homestead files.
The first small log church was built in 1913 by and for the settlers. In spite of the Oblate’s efforts to establish a French Catholic parish, St. Boniface, built to serve a German settlement, was the first Roman Catholic parish church in the Peace Country. St. Boniface was served by Religious O.M.I. Priests with German background, the first being Father Bielher O.M.I. The first four burials in the adjoining cemetery bear evidence to the difficult and dangerous conditions encountered by early Peace Country pioneers. The first to be buried was Annie Konshak in 1914, whom while camping with her husband near Spirit River, disappeared into the heavy bush to look for their run-away horse. Despite their best efforts, search parties were unsuccessful in locating her. One year later her remains, lying 22 km from the location of their camp, were discovered by a team of surveyors.
The second to be laid to rest was Solomena Dechant (Boos), who died on October 27, 1915. She, along with one of her newborn twin babies, died the day after a difficult childbirth. The third burial, Gilbert Whitford, was murdered in 1916 by his neighbor, Henry Hilker, who shot Gilbert through the door of his house during a heated argument.
The fourth burial was Mrs. Van who, like so many in the early days, got lost finding her way home one winter evening and froze to death.
In spite of the difficulties and tragedies encountered during the first fragile years, the settlement persisted to become a substantial and strong community. By 1921 the community had outgrown its little log church and the present one was built. The large, imposing church, with its detailed, ornate finishing embodies a sense of permanence and solidarity.
SITE INFORMATION
Denomination: Roman Catholic
Church built: 1921
Cemetery: yes
Contact:
Access: The public has access to the site
FURTHER READING & BIBLIOGRAPHY
MacLean, Hec (Editor) 1970, Waterhole and the Land North of the Peace
Boytinck, Frances and Luck, Anita (Editors) 1987, Reminisce With Friedenstal
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