As a matter of fact, we had to go back to the Dumont Ranch and ask directions in order to find it. We received directions from what would be a descendant of the builders.
Sacred Heart Church was built in 1930 by brothers Hugo, Paul and Joe Dumont, with help from several neighbours. Somewhat of a rarity in the area at that time, the church is Catholic, because the Dumont Family originated in Rouen, France. The first Dumonts to emigrate to Canada were Paul and Joe, followed in 1905 by Hugo at the age of sixteen. Deeply religious, it was the Dumonts who instigated the construction of the church.
The Dumont Ranch is nearby, less than a kilometre up Bridesville Road from the church. At, or near, the church is the Dumont Family cemetery. Unfortunately, though we were given clear instructions, we were unable to find the cemetery. The church (and cemetery) are about 4.6 km. down Bridesville Road from its meeting with the Crowsnest Highway, just east of the near ghost town of Bridesville. It is about 150 metres north of Rock Mountain Road.
The condition of the church indicates that it has not been used (as a church) for many years. Today it is the home of many thousands of bees, with beehives being kept inside. There is no longer a sign of any type at the church.
When first built, the clergyman was the well known and much loved Father Mac, Reverend A.K. McIntyre. It was Father Mac who had Sacred Heart Church in Rossland built and then served the church for the next 60 years - a Western Canadian record. Father Mac, born in 1888, passed away in Rossland's Mater Misericordiae Hospital in 1974.
Pictures below are excerpts of two pertinent pages taken from the Okanagan Historical Society's 36th Annual Report, published in 1972.
Upper photo is from page 152, lower is from page 73.
