Havre History: Saint Mark's Episcopal Church

(First in a two-part series)

Organized in 1898, the missionaries who held services for the Episcopalians occasionally in Havre until 1907 were Bishop Brenner, the Rev. Harry Robbins, the Rev. John Mills, the Rev. Dr. Chestnut, the Rev. Robert Stringfellow and the Rev. David Fleming.

On March 1, 1907, the Rev. Leonard Jacob Christler arrived in Havre from New York, where he was not only raised but he was a missionary in that area for six years. He was to make Havre his headquarters for his missionary work in this area. His territory extended as far west as Glacier Park, east to North Dakota, north to Canada, and south to the Missouri River. It was called the "Milk River Mission Field." On Sunday, March 3, 1907, the Rev. Christler held his first service in Chestnut Hall on the northwest corner of 3rd Avenue and 2nd Street. The Rev. Christler loved the outdoors, speaking, traveling, and became a major supporter of Havre, he was known as "The Bishop of All Outdoors."

Clerk and Recorders Office records show that on July 24, 1902, the trustees of the Diocese of Montana bought two lots on the northeast corner of 3rd Avenue and 6th Street, to build a church on. The Sept. 11, 1909, Havre Plaindealer states that a ground-breaking ceremony for the new St. Mark's Episcopal Church was held Friday, Sept. 10, 1909. It was to be a stately Gothic style church with rough gray granite and arched windows. Havre City Band was there and played before the Rev. Christler spoke to the crowd, then, he dug the first shovelful of dirt for the new church. Havre resident, Frank F. Bossuot was the architect, and the contractor was Mr. E. Winegard.

When the granite was cut, there was about a 3/4 inch hole drilled approximately every four to six inches apart, in a straight line. These holes were between 3 and 4 inches deep, depending on the size of the stone, and steel wedges were inserted in each hole. The wedges were then hit evenly with a sledge hammer until the granite broke. Some of these imprints can be seen today on St. Mark's Episcopal Church.

The cornerstone was laid in front of a large crowd on April 30, 1910, by Bishop Brewer and Rev. L.J. Christler. As stated in The Havre Promoter: "If it is possible to construct the church in accordance with the plans conceived by Rev. Christler, Havre will have one of the most handsomest churches in the state of Montana."

On Sunday, March 5, and in the Havre Promoter dated March 11, 1911, Rev. Christler stated to the congregation that three gifts were given for the construction of the church. The first being Honorable W.G. Conrad donated the granite, he wanted his name withheld, but word got out. He ordered his quarries in Helena to "cut all the stone necessary for the building." W.G. Conrad was a wealthy business man with many interests. He and his wife Fannie E. were active members of the Episcopal Church, and he was a vestryman for many years.

The second, that President Louis W. Hill, son of good friend James J. Hill and owner of the Great Northern Railway, gave the order that all the building materials for the church be shipped for free on the Great Northern lines. The third, that Mr. Newton, a personal friend of Rev Christler, from Auburn, N.Y., gave him $3,000. This could start the work on the church again, since it was stopped because of lack of funds. In comparison, in 1911, you could buy an average house for $3,000.

In the first part of December 1911, another five train cars of granite was brought to Havre from Helena. When Rev. Christler was asked if he was getting all the help he wanted, he said: "Not all that we should have, but nevertheless I am going to continue hopeful and stay with the project to the finish, if it's the last work I ever do in my life."

Christler went back to New York in 1914 to marry his girlfriend, Anna. She was from a prominent family in Auburn,. Together they came back to Havre and lived on their homestead three miles south of Havre.

In May 1915, the services were moved from the Chestnut Hall to the basement chapel of St. Mark's Church. Bishop Faber was there for the first service held in the chapel. They continued to work on the upper part of the church, one layer of granite at a time.

March 5, 1916, was the celebration service marking the eighteenth anniversary of St. Mark's Church and the ninth anniversary of Rev. Christler being the rector.

In 1916, the city fountain that stood for 10 years on the north end of 3rd Avenue, in front of the train depot, had to be moved to make way for a service track the railway workers were going to put in. The mayor and city council voted to give it to Rev. Christler for all the work he has done for the benefit of Havre. In April 1916 the fountain was moved to St. Mark's Church. This fountain was put on the front lawn of St. Mark's Church. One night it was stolen from the church yard and never recovered.

Christler would be seen many times walking the streets of Havre with a well-worn subscription book tucked under his arm to write in the money donations or the names of people who would donate their time to work on the church. Several building campaigns were held, some were "Big-Lift-Week" and "Heave-Over-Week." Then on Sept. 21, through Oct. 21, 1916, the "Finish-Her-Up-Month" campaign was started. This month-long campaign was designed to raise the funds needed to finish the outside of the church. As stated in The Havre Promoter, Dec. 13, 1916, was a "banner day of them all," almost $1,000 was collected that day for building the church.

On Dec. 15, 1916, Bishop Faber notified Rev. Christler that the annual Episcopal convention was going to be held in Havre. The benediction of St. Mark's Episcopal Church and the start of the Diocesan convention were on June 17, 1917. In The Havre Daily Promoter dated June 20, 1017, the headline read: "St. Mark's Mission Becomes a Parish."

The Clerk and Recorders Office records show that on July 1, 1917, the members of the vestry of St. Mark's incorporated under the name of St. Mark's Parish. A document in the Clerk and Recorders Office also states that St. Mark's Parish took out several loans to pay for materials for the construction of the church, and to pay for the non-volunteer labor. The nonvolunteer laborers were paid each Saturday. On Nov. 15, 1917, Clerk and Recorders records show that the Diocese of Montana deeded the two lots they purchased in 1902 to St. Mark's Parish.

The "Tower-Fund" campaign was in 1917, and in April 1918, it was the "Over-the-Top" campaign, designed to finish building St. Mark's tower. With the tower being unfinished, a southwest storm could cause a lot of damage to the interior. The tower was finished in 1918, and they could complete the roof, then, the work began to finish the inside of St. Mark's Episcopal Church.