Originally built for the town of Rounthwaite in 1882, Wawanesa’s St. John the Divine Church is one of the few rural churches built in the High Victorian Gothic style.

Pre-cut timber was shipped along the Assiniboine to Winnipeg, then by ox-cart to the small community, where Reverend John Rounthwaite and his brother Samuel oversaw the church’s construction.

In 1890, the Northern Pacific Railway expanded railroads across Manitoba, laying their tracks two kilometers west of Rounthwaite. In response, the town moved. Whole buildings, including St. John the Divine Church, were relocated around the tracks.

Following the Victorian style, the church features pointed arch windows with a steep gable roof and cast-iron cross. Inside, the ceiling is barrel vaulted and there is a stained glass window imported from England. Many of the church’s original elements remain, including wainscoted walls, kneeling rails on the pews and a wood stove.

The town’s success was not destined to last. By 1982, the congregation had dwindled and the church was forced to close. After twenty years of vacancy, the church was moved yet again – this time to Wawanesa, where it is one of the oldest Anglican church structures left in the province of Manitoba.