Stove Creek – St. Elias (closed)

Stove Creek church of St. Elias constructed 1924-1928, 15 miles north of Hazel Dell; R.M. 335.

STOVE CREEK — The church of St. Elias was the first church of the parish.

The church, on an open prairie site fifteen miles north of Hazel Dell, was constructed between 1924 and 1928. The first pastor was Rev. Damascen Popowich, OSBM, who commuted from Canora. In the ensuing years the parish was served by pastors of the Arran parish.

The parishioners constructed the church through private contributions and voluntary labour under the foremanship of Ivan Kwasny. The two acre church and cemetery site was donated by Petro Baran (also known as Prots).

The small rectangular structure is constructed of logs and has one cross at the frontal apex of the gable roof. The interior contains but one main altar. Entry is directly into the nave. The structure has a wooden floor and its ceiling corresponds to the shape of the roof.

Ukrainian settlers arrived in 1914 from Hryhoriv and Byrtnykiv in the Buchach county. The parish was also known as “Byrtnyky”. The ten founding members who constructed this chapel-church were: Petro Baran, Theodore Darmochid, Mykhaylo Pasichnyk, Teodore Skavronsky, Toma and Petro Rachkewich, Yanko Delovsky, Yosyf and Vasyi’ Stadnyk and Vasyi’ Huk. The only surviving member of this group at present is Toma Rachkewich. Due to the rocky terrain of the Stove Creek district many of our settlers moved to Preeceville and, without an influx of new settlers, the parish did not have the opportunity to expand. It was therefore liquidated and the church was closed.

The Ukrainian Catholic parish of St. Elias at Stove Creek, was under the pastoral charge of Preeceville.