Whether it was planned or just happened, people quickly came to see the chapel and its surroundings as a beautiful setting for their wedding. Surrounded by heritage buildings dating back to 1867, the chapel was built to blend in with the other log buildings on the site, which it does admirably. While is is used primarily for weddings, the occasional funeral service has been held in the chapel, as well. Never having been associated with a denomination, the chapel has never held a church service and probably never will.
In 2012 the 100 Mile and District Historical Society began construction of the Historical Society Heritage Chapel, a log-home style chapel built to complement the existing heritage buildings and now used primarily as a wedding venue. Inside are the 1904 altar, lectern, pews and font relocated to the 108 Mile site from a defunct Anglican church in the Nicola Valley. At the front of the nave is an electronic organ, complete withy a small set of electronically driven pipes. Over the entrance, at the peak of the gable end, is a modest bell tower, complete with bell. This is probably a bell with a heritage of its own, but no information on it has been uncovered as yet.
Here's how the 108 Mile House Heritage Site came to be.
The beginning was 1969 and we were called the 108 Mile ‘Recreational’ Ranch. The developer, Block Brothers Realty, had a vision to create an ‘outdoor playground’, a five stage 26,800 acre seasonal recreational resort. The Agricultural Land Reserve prevented the last four stages from proceeding, but luckily much of the recreational infrastructure had been put in place first. We are now 1,140 permanent homes at the 108, with a population of approx 2,900. The treasure of it is that we have recreational facilities for a development of about 7,000 homes. The developers are gone and we now control our own destiny through our 108 Mile Ranch Community Association.
[In 1979 the Block Brothers sold the seven acre site to the 100 Mile & District Historical Society for $1. It took over the 108 Mile House Heritage Site and continues to operate it today.]
From 108 Ranch
The oldest buildings on the site are the 1867
Post House and the 1867 log shed, both built on the north side of the highway in 1867 and moved to their present sites in 1892 and 1880, respectively, the log shed becoming the
Store & Telegraph office. From 1875 until June of 1885 the
Post House was operated as the "108 Hotel" by Agnus MacVee, Jim MacVee, and her brother-in-law Al Riley. Further additions in 1880 were the
Ice House and a Blacksmith Shop. The
Small Log Barn was added in 1892, as was the wood framed
Blacksmith Shop and the
Bunkhouse. In 1903 the site was bought by Captain Geoffrey Lancelot Watson and in 1904 this ceased to be a Roadhouse and stopping place when Captain Watson turned it into a ranch, raising purebred Clydesdale horses and Highland Cattle. In 1908 the large
Clydesdale Barn was erected. This log barn is valued as the
largest log barn left in Canada.
108 Mile Historical Site Establishes Itself
As A Unique Wedding Venue
By Constructing A Heritage Church
2012- The 100 Mile and District Historical Society began construction of the Historical Society Heritage Church, located at the 108 Mile House highway rest stop in 2006. This project was a collaboration between the 100 Mile and District Historical Society and Northern Development with private sector contributions from local businesses, Sanders Redi-Mix and Canada's Log People. The project involved the complete construction of a log-home style chapel to compliment the existing heritage tourism industry in the 108 Mile. The funding contributed to the purchase of building materials, equipment rental, and interior furnishings.
From Northern Development