It was built in just a few short months in 1900, and next year the Old Log Church Museum—one of Whitehorse’s oldest buildings in continuous use—will turn 125.
“I think it’s a beautiful building inside and out,” says Linda Thistle, who has been volunteering with the group that operates the museum for nearly 30 years. “It’s still exciting to me.”
Over the decades, she has seen many renovations and refurbishments of the log building. Most recently, the historical windows were refreshed. The frames were repaired and the cloudy older plexiglass protecting the panes was replaced with clear panels.
“It made a glorious uplifting of the building,” says Thistle. “Everybody noticed it.”
In years prior, the roof on the church and the rectory were re-shingled with fire-retardant shake shingles; a modern fire-suppression system was installed; and the logs were re-chinked with oakum—a tarred and loosely twisted hemp or jute fibre that was traditionally used in shipbuilding.
Unfortunately, birds find the substance tasty and pull it out each summer, so the museum hires someone to poke it back in.
Much of this work has been done with the support of the Historic Properties Assistance (HPA) program, administered through the Government of Yukon’s Historic Sites Unit. The HPA program provides funding to preserve, restore, develop or interpret privately-owned historically-significant properties in the Yukon.
“I always say if we could just have a dollar for everyone who takes a picture of the outside of the church, we’d be all right,” says Thistle. “But we’re very lucky to have the funds and expertise from the Historic Sites Unit to assist with large projects in keeping the building preserved for future generations.”
Because of the building’s historic designation, all repairs need to follow the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada. That means using materials that would have been available in the era that the church was constructed to preserve the historic character of the building.
The church was built using simple half-lap construction. Additions show the growth and development of the building through improved craftsmanship and the introduction of traditional church design features, such as the sanctuary, vestry and baptistery.
“I think it’s very unique. It’s worth continuing to save as a historical site and worth keeping as a museum,” says Thistle. “There are lots of stories to tell here and it’s about keeping those stories alive.”
For Thistle, the history of the building, as well as the exhibits, are part of the stories told at the museum.
The building’s history begins in 1900 when the Rt Rev. William Bompas, bishop of the Anglican diocese of Selkirk, decided the small town of Whitehorse needed a place of worship. He called on Rev. R. J. Bowen, who had already built churches in Dawson and Forty Mile, to do the job.
Bowen and his wife, Susan, arrived by steamboat in August 1900. They held their first services in the community in a wall tent while they were building what would become the Old Log Church Museum.
With help from the community, the church took just two months to build. They called it Christ Church and the first service was held on October 7, 1900. The Bowens lived in part of the church building until the rectory was completed in the spring of 1901.
It was a community gathering place for many years. During the Second World War, it provided a place of worship for the Army personnel who were stationed in Whitehorse while building the Alaska Highway.
It was so popular that Army personnel made up half the congregation. One officer, using his bedsheet as a canvas, painted the large picture that now hangs above the front door.
In 1953, the church became the diocesan cathedral. It quickly became too small for the growing congregation and a new purpose-built cathedral was constructed in 1960.
The Old Log Church became a museum in 1962 and was still used as a church into the 1980s when it was known as St. Simons and was attended by a First Nations congregation.
In 1982, the Yukon Church Heritage Society was formed to restore and preserve the building and operate the Old Log Church Museum. Since then, the society has been caring for the buildings.
Originally, the church was built directly on the ground. Over the years, the freeze-thaw Yukon weather cycle took its toll and the building had to be moved onto a foundation. In 1989, the log building was raised and moved to the adjacent street while a new basement was prepared.
Then Andy Hooper, well known for moving buildings at the time, moved the church back to its original site and placed it directly on the new basement foundation. (Hooper’s legendary truck is on display at the Yukon Transportation Museum.)
In 2014, both the Government of Yukon and the City of Whitehorse designated the Old Log Church and Rectory official Historic Sites. Currently, the museum is open to the public five days a week and continues to hold special church services during the summer.
To find out more about the HPA program, visit yukon.ca/historic-properties-assistance-program.
