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The Benvoulin Church, the first Presbyterian Church south of Vernon, was built by the community in 1892, on a piece of land donated by real estate promoter/developer George Grant MacKay. Building the church was part of MacKay’s plan to develop his Benvoulin town site in hopes that it would become a station stop along the proposed Vernon & Okanagan Railway, which lead to the U.S. border. But with MacKay’s death in late 1892, his driving force was eliminated and the railway never built. The high expectations for the Benvoulin town site were never realized. Instead settlement focused on Bernard Lequime’s 1892 Kelowna town site on the Okanagan lakefront.
The church was built by H.W. Raymer, who was Kelowna’s first mayor. Lumber for construction came from the sawmill of the notable pioneer Lequime family. Canada’s seventh Governor General, Lord Aberdeen, and his wife Lady Aberdeen, who purchased the neighbouring Guisachan Ranch, provided liberal donations towards the building of the church.
After serving its community for over seventy years, the church was closed in 1964. With the building falling into disrepair and the threat of its destruction through ‘fire practice’, local citizens came together to save and restore the building. The Central Okanagan Heritage Society was formed in 1982, with the Benvoulin Church becoming their first restoration project. In late 1983, the church was designated as a municipal heritage building under the Heritage Conservation Act. The Benvoulin Church and site continue to serve the community as a venue for public, private and cultural events.
Through the use of photographs, images and text, the story of the Benvoulin Church will be explored and brought to life. The physical changes to the church and site reflect the changing needs of the community. The construction, restoration and the continued preservation of this building and site reflects the value that the community placed and continues to place on the Benvoulin Church.
