This little Anglican Chapel was built along the Peace River to the south of Fort St. John by an Anglican missionary, Miss Monica Storrs, in 1934. She had come to the Peace River country to preach and to teach Sunday School to the surrounding children. She first built a log home in 1929, one room of which served as a church for Sunday services. By 1934 there were enough people in the area that the single room became too small, leading to the construction of this chapel nearby.
Monica Storrs returned to her native England in 1950 and the buildings were left empty and subject to vandalism. When the log home burned down community members rallied to save the chapel, which was moved, first to Taylor, then later to the museum and restored.
A historic marker at the chapel relates the chapel's history.
The Chapel of the Holy Cross
Here stands the Holy Cross Chapel, one of our historic buildings, built in 1934. An Anglican missionary, Miss Monica Storrs arrived in the Peace Rivers Country from England in 1929. Miss Storrs needed a headquarters for her ministry, so she purchased land from Alwin Holland and proceeded to build a log building, originally 18' x 24'. This building was more than a home, for it served as a dormitory for children from outlying areas so they could attend school and receive religious instruction. One room in the house was set aside for a community chapel and for this reason her home was nicknamed "The Abby" by Kenneth Birley
As enrollment increased so did the need for more room. In 1934, Miss Storrs had a separate chapel, the Chapel of the Holy Cross, built not far from the Abbey on the "Breaks" of the Peace River Valley. In the evenings, everyone went to the Chapel for services.
Sometime after Miss Storrs had left the Peace River Country, the land was expropriated by BC Hydro. With no occupants, the buildings were vandalized and The Abbey caught fire and burned to the ground. The Chapel of the Holy Cross remained and was transported from the original site, firstly to Peace Island Park in Taylor, then to the present location here beside the Fort St. John North Peace Museum. Restoration was made possible through a grant from the British Columbia Heritage Trust. Thanks to the Trust, this Chapel can be enjoyed by generation to come.
From the Historical Marker at the chapel