Municipal Heritage Site

Bethlehem Lutheran Church Manse

Erickson, Manitoba

Also known as The Parsonage, Le Presbytère

View, from the east, of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Manse, Erickson, 2005

View, from the east, of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Manse, Erickson, 2005

Photo: Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport, 2005

Built
1898
Recognized
1987
By
Local government

The register’s text, word for word

Description

The Bethlehem Lutheran Church Manse, completed in 1898, is a 1 1/2-storey single-family log dwelling that has been moved from its original site to a small collection of historical structures on the outskirts of nearby Erickson. The municipal designation applies to the building.

Heritage value

The Bethlehem Lutheran Church Manse, with its hand-hewn squared logs fixed by dovetail joints, is the only remaining local example of a construction method widely used by Scandinavian immigrants in the Erickson area, where a major Swedish colony was established in 1885. The sturdy unpretentious dwelling is patterned on early Ontario houses, as revealed by its L-shaped plan and steep front gable dormer, and suggests adaptation of old-country traditions to a new situation. Designed and built by Bethlehem Lutheran Church volunteers in the village of Scandinavia using local materials and methods, the manse is a rare and enduring link to the first settlers in the Erickson area.

SourceVillage of Erickson By-law No. 382/87, October 15, 1987

Character‑defining elements

Key elements that define the solid and straightforward character of the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Manse include:

  • its 1 1/2-storey massing, L-shaped, under a moderately pitched cross-gable roof, with one steeply pitched front gable wall dormer and a small one-storey rear porch
  • the walls of rough unpainted hand-hewn squared logs with dovetail joints and white-painted board trim
  • the rectangular double-hung windows under triangular caps

Key elements that define the dwelling's modest interior character include:

  • the centre-hall plan with a narrow entrance hall opening on to the staircase and with access to a large room to the south and two connected rooms to the north
  • the dividing walls of logs, some clad in lath and plaster
  • finishes and details such as the wooden staircase with its steep incline, solid board balustrade and roughly shaped newel post; wood plank flooring, ceilings and walls in several areas; solid wooden doors; plain wood baseboards and trim on the windows and doors; etc.

End of the register’s text

Location

Queen Elizabeth Road, Erickson, Manitoba, R0J, Canada

50.50360° N, 99.91270° W

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From the Canadian Register of Historic Places, as last updated on December 12, 2025. The register’s text is shown word for word.