Life of the Chippewa City Church

 

The first Catholic Church to be built in the Grand Marais area, St. Francis Xavier Church, has stood in the same spot looking out over Lake Superior since 1895.

Known to many at the time as the “Chippewa Church”, it served as the only Catholic parish from the time it was built in 1895 through 1916, when a second Catholic church was built in the Grand Marais village.

Father Joseph Specht, SJ., oversaw the building of the church and much of the money raised to finance the building came from basket socials. Community members made the baskets by hand from birch bark and filled them with homebaked foods. The numerous lumber jacks at that time were the best customers. During the construction of the French-style church, Ojibwe carpenter Mr. Frank Wischop was the chief carpenter. His beautifully hand hewn, dove-tailed timbers can still be seen in the interior of the church today.

The church was a central gathering place for the residents of the Chippewa City settlement, which was located about one mile east of the present city of Grand Marais. From the early 1880s-1900 there were up to 100 families living in this community and it was their commitment, faith, and community that kept Chippewa Church going strong for more than 30 years.

Priests came periodically whether by dog sled, steamship, or snowshoe. When a priest was unavailable, services were often led by James Morrison Sr., an elder and founder of the church. Morrison was grandfather to the nationally known artist and former Chippewa City resident, George Morrison.

The cemetery, which once held wooden ceremonial grave houses, white crosses, natural stones and wooden fences, has lost many of these traditional grave markers over the years. Today, families of those buried there and the community continue to honor the cemetery and research continues to try and identify the gravesites.

The last service held at Chippewa Church was on Christmas in 1936 when only a couple of families remained in Chippewa City. The Great Depression, forest fires, Spanish flu, and the construction of the highway are a few reasons that Chippewa City began to decline. And as more and more land ownership transitioned to developers and local business people, sometimes through unfair transactions, the community could no longer sustain itself.

Chippewa Church began to deteriorate as it sat unused. In 1958, the Catholic community and the Lions organized a cleanup of the property, and a new roof was completed. The foundation stringers were repaired in the 1970s and the sagging structure stood straighter once again.

In 1985 the church was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and in the mid-1990s it was donated to the Cook County Historical Society (CCHS) by the Catholic Church to preserve and use as a historic monument. At this time a new cedar shake roof was put on thanks to donations from the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, St. John’s Catholic Church in Grand Marais, and members of the historical society. Since that time repairs to the roof, siding and paint have been ongoing.

On behalf of CCHS and the Grand Portage Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Grand Portage National Monument employees and volunteers completed an archeological survey and inventory of the church yard in the summer of 2017. The study was done to determine the condition of the church foundation for later rehabilitation and repair and to locate any potential archaeological artifacts that might be affected by future foundation work.

Currently CCHS is having paint samples tested to determine continuing issues with peeling paint – wanting to address the root cause before repainting. Extensive funding needed to address several major concerns with the building’s structure, as well as future restoration, is being researched by both CCHS and Grand Portage.

Over the years, many people have contributed to the care and sharing of the church. Chippewa Church’s treasured original reed organ was donated back to the church in 2012 by Alex Sjoberg whose mother had salvaged the organ when a clean out of the church occurred. CCHS staff and volunteers have maintained the property and opened it for events and tours. For the last several years, Jerry and Kay Sivets, and Alta and Gary McQuatters, have devoted considerable time to providing church visitors a chance to see the building and learn about the history of the site. They also care for many of the artifacts and displays that enrich everyone’s visit. Alta has also done extensive research on identifying burial plots in the Cook County cemeteries. Through her writings, Staci Drouillard has helped to preserve some of the history and stories of the families of who called Chippewa City home.

Today, there are many people who trace their family roots to the once vibrant Chippewa City and continue to honor the memory of their ancestors – many of whom loved and cared for the church and the cemetery. These tangible vestiges of the old settlement hold important historical significance and will hopefully remain with us for many more decades.

Chippewa City Church will be open to visitors each Saturday and Sunday from 12-2 p.m. starting June 4th. If you are interested in volunteering at the church, please call Dennis at 218-387-2883 or email dennis@cookcountyhistory.org.

Donations are always welcome! If you would like to donate to help with the church restoration and maintenance, you can visit www.cookcountyhistory.org/ donate or call us at 218-387-2883.