St. Francois Xavier

Experience the History of St. Francois Xavier

The parish of St. François Xavier, succeeding St. Boniface, is the second oldest Roman Catholic parish in the Province of Manitoba and of western Canada . St. François Xavier is the mother church of all parishes west of the Red River and north of the American border.

Sir Cuthbert Grant, Esquire, son of a Scottish voyageur and a native mother, was educated in Scotland and became a senior employee of the Hudson ’s Bay Company. He converted to Catholicism when he married a Catholic wife. The governor made him the Guardian of the Plains, and Chief of the Métis. In 1823, many faithful inhabitants from Pembina followed him, and arrived at the White Horse Plains in the spring of 1824. Most of the settlers were Métis and Cuthbert Grant’s relatives, thus forming a village called Grantown until 1854.

Religious services were held in Cuthbert Grant’s home by M. l’abbe Destroismaisons from 1823 – 1827.  In 1828, a log chapel, 20 feet by 30 feet was built by settlers. This chapel soon became too small and a new chapel measuring 80 ft. by 30 ft. was constructed.

January 1, 1834 , the mission became a parish. By 1850, many families of both native and white parentage had settled on the banks of the Assiniboine River . Bishop Provencher asked the Grey Nuns of St. Boniface to take on the responsibility of educating these children. On November 5th of that year, two grey nuns arrived as missionaries.

On July 16, 1854 , Cuthbert Grant died and his ashes were buried in the chapel.

A new church measuring 92 ft. by 40 ft. was built in 1900. This is the present church.

On December 4, 1915 the parish became affiliated with the Archdiocese of Winnipeg. The Grey Nuns departed in 1968, after 118 years of service.  Presently the parish is served by M. l’abbe R. Tessier.

The legend of the White Horse

WHITEHORSE.GIF (40278 bytes) Early one summer in the 1690s, a band of Assiniboines was camped on the banks of the Assiniboine river, about ten miles west of present day Winnipeg. A young Cree brave from Lake Winnipegosis entered the Assiniboine camp and asked if he might marry the chief's daughter. The chief was offered a beautiful and spirited snow-white steed, a Blanco Diablo, which came from the famed breed in Mexico, and an agreement was reached.

This agreement upset a Sioux brave from Devil's Lake in North Dakota, also in love with the chief's daughter. He vowed to capture and torture his rival under the pretext of a reprisal for past wars. Aware of the danger, the Assiniboine chief saddled the white horse, and advised the couple to escape under cover of darkness.

When the Sioux learned of the escape, they followed, and eventually overtook the couple on the west bank of the Assiniboine river a few miles west of where the St. Francois-Xavier parish church now stands. Arrows killed both warrior and his bride.

The white horse escaped, and according to legend, continued to roam the neighbouring plains for many years. The Assiniboines believed that the spirits carried the horse to the spirit world where he was reunited with the Cree brave.

The aboriginal peoples named this land, where the white horse ran free in honour of the powerful animal.

Assiniboine Trail follows historical tranport route

The Assiniboine Trail commemorates a transportation route used by early aboriginals as well as European explorers and settlers. The original route follows the Assiniboine River from the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, now known as The Forks in the centre of Winnipeg.

Historical evidence shows that the trail was a common route for the various aboriginal tribes that populated the area of southern Manitoba.

In 1738, on his first journey west, French explorer, La Verendrye, travelled via the Assiniboine River. In 1806, Alexander Henry, and in 1858, the Youle Hind Expedition also used this route. A map of Peter Fiddler's, dated 1819, showed the cart trail from the Forks to Fort la Reine at Portage la Prairie following the Assiniboine.

This trail has been re-named several times. It was the beginning of the Carleton Trail; the longest trail being some nine hundred miles from the Forks, to Upper Fort des Prairies at Edmonton. Later it was known as the Great Highway, according to an 1874 map, then part of the Trans-Canada Highway. Currently it is designated as Provincial Trunk Highway 26, the Assiniboine Trail.

Restoration of Breland House, St. Francois Xavier

The St. Francois Xavier Historical Society, a non-profit organization are in the process of restoring and reconstructing one of the last remaining log structures in the Rural Municipality of St. Francois Xaiver, on part of lot 183 (which was the lot where Cuthbert Grant had resided).

In the 1870s, Moise Breland built this log house on river lot 192, Parish of St. Francois Xavier, approximately 21' square and about 11/2 stories in height. He was a cousin of Pascal Breland, who was a respected Metis trader and son-in-law of Cuthbert Grant. The Xavier Breland family and the Alexander Breland family, uncle and parents of Leah Houston used this structure as their home until 1945.

In 1982, Jim and Leah Houston (nee Breland, granddaughter of Moise Breland) donated the house to the municipality. It was moved to the St. Francois Xavier Park, and subsequently received some replacement logs (not new), new shingles, floor, windows and door. The interior was sandblasted and the logs chinked with cement. It received the title "Breland House Museum", the intent being to furnish it with artifacts and period furniture under the jurisdiction of the Parks Board. A historical park will surround this structure. The roof (except the shingles), the loft floor, and the top 3 logs are original. Our project includes plans for a permanent open-sided roofed shelter for an existing Red River Cart. The proposed building and site would provide an immediate visual impact to visitors.

The project has the support of municipal council. In 1991, municipal council gave jurisdiction for management of the house to the St. Francois Historical Society, whose intent it was to restore and finish the house. A community survey taken in 1998 indicated a willingness on the part of residents to donate volunteer hours for the project. In the spring of 1999, a group of Historical Society members and their spouses went to Grandview to peel the bark off the logs bought for restoration, and prior to being sent to Lower Fort Garry for further preparation. These logs were assembled and the old roof re-installed. In 2000, new windows and door were installed, and in 2001, the logs were chinked.

Today, the log house, and the ox cart shelter are virtually complete.  The house has new logs, windows and doors and the old roof.  The ox cart has a new roofed shelter.  Some ash trees have been planted.  Some repairs are still needed.

Did you know?

*Pigeon Lake (near St. Francois Xavier) was once a part of the Assiniboine River bed. It was named for the vast number of passenger pigeons that were so numerous in the area, they almost obliterated the trees! The Hudson's Bay Company store issued free gunpowder to anyone who would shoot them!

*The first industrial site in Manitoba was located in St. Francois Xavier - a site where Red River Carts were constructed.

*The municipality of Belcourt existed from 1880 to 1890. A municipality, school district and community, it was swallowed up by St. Francois Xavier in the mid 1890s.

*Lane's Post was a Hudson's Bay Company outpost near St. Francois Xavier built in 1856 and closed in 1883.

*The legend of the White Horse is Central Plains' most identifiable legend, and is commemorated by a large statue near St. Francois Xavier.

*In 1738, on his first journey west, French explorer, La Verendrye travelled the Assiniboine River through this region.