St. Mary’s Anglican Church in the hamlet of Orkney, Saskatchewan is a modest but meaningful piece of prairie heritage. Built in 1929, this small wood-frame church was recognized as a Municipal Heritage Property in 1985 and later listed on the Canadian Register of Historic Places in 2006. Its simple rectangular design, gable roof and clapboard siding reflect the humble building traditions of rural Saskatchewan at the time. The church served as a focal point for the early settlers of Orkney and the surrounding district, providing a place for worship and community gatherings for decades.
What gives St. Mary’s its heritage value isn’t just the architecture but the story of cooperation behind it. Residents pooled financial contributions and volunteered their labour to construct the building just four years after the townsite was established. One prominent supporter, Mrs. Dan Cameron — married to one of the first bankers in Orkney — donated the stained glass windows that still grace the sanctuary. Over the years, the church’s doors welcomed not only Anglican services but also gatherings for other denominations, including the United Church and local Lutheran congregations.
For more than sixty years, St. Mary’s was at the heart of both spiritual and social life in Orkney, from Sunday services to community events in its basement hall. While declining membership led to its closure around 1985, the church stands today as a reminder of the cooperative spirit and faith of the prairie settlers who built and sustained it.
