Known formally as St. George's Anglican Church, local names for this abandoned fieldstone structure in the Rural Municipality of Two Borders were Butterfield Church and Copley Church. Through the fundraising efforts of Goddard Frederick Gale, construction by local settler William Cornwallis Bate began in the autumn of 1890 and the church was ready for use by the spring of 1892. On 4 September 1892, it was consecrated by Bishop Robert Machray, assisted by Canon Samuel Pritchard Matheson, Reverend Charles Wood, and Reverend Frank Mercer. The first burial in the associated cemetery occurred a month later.

As settlement in the surrounding area waned, church attendance diminished until the building was deconsecrated in June 1913. Church equipment was taken to a new building at Pierson while the organ and pictures were taken to Eunola School. Local lore indicates that, during the years of Prohibition (in the USA), the isolated location of the building and its close proximity to the American and Saskatchewan borders made it attractive to bootleggers. Efforts were made in 1932 to protect the building from vandalism, by boarding the doors and windows. Since then, the elements have taken a toll. Still intact in 1967, only remnants of the original walls were present at the time of a 2011 site visit. (Source: Manitoba Historical Society [Adapted])

Dominion Land Survey coordinates: SE-14-01-29-W1

More of the story of the town and its inhabitants from the early days of European settlement through roughly 19nn is told in the volume "Harvests of Time - The Sequel; History of the RM of Edward including Pierson and Lyleton", especially starting on page 5. A digital version of this 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".

Additionally, the Turtle Mountain - Souris Plains Heritage Association offers an extensive story about the significance of the site and its cemetery to both local and Manitoba history via the link provided here.