The land for the church was donated and was part of the original homestead of Mr. Alex McNeil. The land for the cemetery was purchased in 1897, six years following the building of the church. Further land has been acquired through the years as needed. The first service in the new church was held on November 29, 1891, and the last services were in 1924. In 1936 the Bethel Committee decided to hold an annual Memorial Service at the church on the last Sunday in June, this custom has continued each year since.

(Source: Municipality of Norfolk-Treherne website [2023/12; Adapted])

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The first church erected was a Presbyterian on Lot 11, Block 4. It was built by John Parker in 1887. This served the Presbyterians until 1907 when a larger church was necessary to accommodate an increasing population. The present United Church was then built, one of the finest churches outside of Winnipeg. In 1987, it was declared a Heritage Building and it now has been restored to its original state. It was built on the site of the first church.

(Source: Treherne 100 years 1880-1980, p 20 [1980; Adapted])

On February 2, 1891, a meeting was held in the Louise area, regarding the building of a Methodist Church. Presiding over the meeting was the Rev. John Stewart. Trustees were appointed in the persons of Alexander Matchett (secretary), John Thompson, Copeland Stinson, George J. Wilson, Cyrus Darling, and Levi Darling. Mr. Alex McNeill donated the land for Bethel Church and later he sold land for the cemetery.

The first wedding at Bethel was on December 26, 1892. The contracting parties were Maude Stinson and Milton Staples.

(Source: Tiger Hills to the Assiniboine, pp 68ff [1976; Adapted])

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Established in 1892, caretakers said that graves are dug by hand in this cemetery and that any vehicles are prohibited from being on cemetery ground. Only recently [1994], a riding lawnmower with a trailer has been allowed for the removal of excess earth or for bringing in earth to fill sunken spots or level up stones.

(Source: Manitoba Genealogical Society [1994; Adapted])

In 1891, a modest Methodist church at this site, in what is now the Municipality of Norfolk Treherne, was built by Rodger Robson on a design by architect Andrew Wilson Maxwell, on land donated by local resident Alex McNeill. The church closed in 1924 but, in 1936, a memorial service in it was held on the last Sunday in June, an annual custom that continues today.

(Source: Manitoba Historical Society [2020; Adapted])

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Dominion Land Survey coordinates: LSD04-16-08-10-W1

In the Municipality of Norfolk-Treherne

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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 1980 is told in the volume "Tiger Hills to the Assiniboine", especially on the cited pages, and the related volumes "Treherne 100 years 1880-1980", and "Treherne in 1908".

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 #0832), transcribed by a member or members in 1994. 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).

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Additionally, many records for defunct United congregations in Manitoba, and those of the sects that merged to form it, are now kept in their Archives and Records Center in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.