St. George's Wakefield cemetery/churchyard was established in 1904. There are limited plots available in the original section for traditional burial (casket) and cremation. That part of the churchyard has almost reached full capacity.

We are now using the new cemetery to the south of the present churchyard. A large wooden cross now stands in the new Memorial Park in the new Cemetery.

(Source: St. George Wakefield Anglican Church website [2023/12; Adapted])

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St. George's Wakefield Anglican Church was built midway between the Villages of Clandeboye and Petersfield in an area referred to as Wakefield. Before the church was built the services were held in Wakefield School. Professors and students from St. Johns College occasionally led the worship.

The records of Wakefield Mission go back to the year 1895 when the first committee was set up. In 1898, a meeting was held at the home of Archie Johnstone to consider the purchasing of a building site and the building of a church. At the meeting, one month later, a motion was made to purchase the present site for $25.00. A parish to be known as Wakefield was formed.

A campaign for a building fund continued until 1904. In 1903 a stone foundation was built by a stone mason. The money for this was raised by having local talent concerts. finally, in 1904 the actual construction was started under the direction of the McKenzie brothers, Findlay, Robert, Ferdinand and Douglas. Other construction workers recorded were Joseph Kirkness, George Sutherland, Alex Johnstone, John Ross, Norman McLeod, William Phillips, Peter Sinclair, William Leask and George Smith.

A disagreement occurred over the position of the church. The priest decreed that the building would face east-west and the foundation was laid. The following year, the actual construction of the building began. The priest spent several days in Winnipeg. When he returned, he found the foundation had been reassembled to face north-south and the building was going up at a fast rate. The dissension caused some workers to take their horses and go home.

The church, free of debt, was consecrated on November 6, 1904. A bell was sent out from England which was erected on a stand south of the church the following year. In 1944, a bell tower was erected in memory of those who served in World Wars I and II. In 1967 a schoolhouse from Parkdale was purchased and moved in. Before being a school, this schoolhouse was a Presbyterian Church. It was attached to the church and is used for Sunday School classes and a Church Hall.

In 1989, extensive renovations took place when both the exterior and the interior received a facelift.

(Source: Beyond the Gates of Lower Fort Garry - A Sequel, p 64 [1999; Adapted])

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The name of the area seems to have originated from an early family of the area named Wakefield, as it is interesting to note the name in the records of the area, such as on a plaque at St. Matthew's in Cloverdale, on which the name F.Y. Wakefield appears as one who was overseas at the time of the First World War.

The Wakefield school which served the children of Wakefield and Petersfield during its early years was built in 1888.

(Source: Manitoba Genealogical Society [Adapted])

Next to this Anglican church is a miniature model built by the Petersen (Bell) family of Clandeboye in honour of the 100th anniversary of St. George's Wakefield Anglican Church, unveiled on 6 November 2004. A building adjacent to the church, used as a classroom, is the former Parkdale School No. 1927. Established in April 1918, the school operated until around 1959.

(Source: Manitoba Historical Society [Adapted])

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Dominion Land Survey coordinates: LSD08-16-15-04-E1

In the Rural Municipality of St Andrews

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As noted above, a part of the town's story, and those of its inhabitants, from the early days of European settlement through roughly 1999 is told in the volume "Beyond the Gates of Lower Fort Garry - A Sequel", especially starting on the cited page, and in the related volume "Beyond the Gates of Lower Fort Garry 1880 - 1991", especially on page 61.

Free digital versions of these and many other Manitoba local history books can be found online in the University of Manitoba Digital Collections. There is also a list of such books organized by district and town name on the Manitoba Historical Society's website on their page entitled "Finding Aid: Manitoba Local History Books".

A list of burials in this cemetery is available from the Manitoba Genealogical Society (reference #0209), transcribed by a member or members in 1986 and updated in 1995 and 2017. Also available to MGS members is a searchable online database named the "MGS Manitoba Name Index" (or MANI). Some additional information is contained in the 1996 MGS publication "Carved in Stone: Manitoba Cemeteries and Burial Sites" (revised edition, Special Projects Publication, 106 pages).