Bishop Fauquier Memorial Chapel, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada
Image by Billy Wilson Photography
"The Bishop Fauquier Memorial Chapel is a small sandstone chapel built in 1881-1883 on the site of the Shingwauk School, a newly established school for First Nations boys in the Anglican Diocese of Algoma. It is in close proximity to an original cemetery of the same period and more recently is maintained as an integral part of the Algoma University/ Shingwauk University Complex.
The chapel has been recognized for its heritage value by the City of Sault Ste. Marie, By-Law 81-19. It is also protected by a municipal heritage conservation easement.
The Bishop Fauquier Memorial Chapel, dedicated to the first Bishop of Algoma following his death in 1881, is a unique example of ecclesiastical architecture in Sault Ste. Marie. Designed in a picturesque combination of Gothic and Tudor styles, the interior and exterior have remained essentially unaltered since its construction.
The Chapel is a reminder of the link between the Anglican Church and the First Nations of the Sault Ste. Marie area. It is the only surviving building of the original Shingwauk Indian Residential School and the oldest building on the current Algoma University College/ Shingwauk University site.
The Chapel is one of the many public and private landmarks built of red sandstone. In its natural setting overlooking the St. Marys River, it is a highly visible, unique and charming landmark of the area.
Key elements that reflect the chapel’s value as a unique example of ecclesiastical architecture in Sault Ste. Marie include:
– the red sandstone walls, constructed of local, uncut fieldstone
– the Tudor style walls of the chapel, divided into squares and triangles by wooden beams that are built directly into the wall
– the high-pitched gable roofs, arched windows and entranceways, finials and belfry reminiscent of the Gothic style
– interior elements such as the round and stained glass lancet windows, oak panelling and pews and the carved text above each window." – info from Historic Places.
"Sault Ste. Marie (/ˈsuː seɪnt məˈriː/ SOO-seint-ma-REE) is a city on the St. Marys River in Ontario, Canada, close to the Canada–US border. It is the seat of the Algoma District and the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay.
The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants of the area, call this area Baawitigong, meaning "place of the rapids." They used this as a regional meeting place during whitefish season in the St. Mary’s Rapids. (The anglicized form of this name, Bawating, is used in institutional and geographic names in the area.)
To the south, across the river, is the United States and the Michigan city of the same name. These two communities were one city until a new treaty after the War of 1812 established the border between Canada and the United States in this area at the St. Mary’s River. In the 21st century, the two cities are joined by the International Bridge, which connects Interstate 75 on the Michigan side, and Huron Street (and former Ontario Secondary Highway 550B) on the Ontario side. Shipping traffic in the Great Lakes system bypasses the Saint Mary’s Rapids via the American Soo Locks, the world’s busiest canal in terms of tonnage that passes through it, while smaller recreational and tour boats use the Canadian Sault Ste. Marie Canal.
French colonists referred to the rapids on the river as Les Saults de Ste. Marie and the village name was derived from that. The rapids and cascades of the St. Mary’s River descend more than 6 m (20 ft) from the level of Lake Superior to the level of the lower lakes. Hundreds of years ago, this slowed shipping traffic, requiring an overland portage of boats and cargo from one lake to the other. The entire name translates to "Saint Mary’s Rapids" or "Saint Mary’s Falls". The word sault is pronounced [so] in French, and /suː/ in the English pronunciation of the city name. Residents of the city are called Saultites.
Sault Ste. Marie is bordered to the east by the Rankin and Garden River First Nation reserves, and to the west by Prince Township. To the north, the city is bordered by an unincorporated portion of Algoma District, which includes the local services boards of Aweres, Batchawana Bay, Goulais and District, Peace Tree and Searchmont. The city’s census agglomeration, including the townships of Laird, Prince and Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional and the First Nations reserves of Garden River and Rankin, had a total population of 79,800 in 2011.
Native American settlements, mostly of Ojibwe-speaking peoples, existed here for more than 500 years. In the late 17th century, French Jesuit missionaries established a mission at the First Nations village. This was followed by development of a fur trading post and larger settlement, as traders, trappers and Native Americans were attracted to the community. It was considered one community and part of Canada until after the War of 1812 and settlement of the border between Canada and the US at the Ste. Mary’s River. At that time, the US prohibited British traders from any longer operating in its territory, and the areas separated by the river began to develop as two communities, both named Sault Ste. Marie." – info from Wikipedia.
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