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Overview Establishment People and Events Legacy

Norway House, named after the Norwegian labourers who constructed it, was built in 1814 in what is now present-day Manitoba. It was a major supply depot and transportation link for the Hudson's Bay Company, with three posts built in the area. 

The mission at Norway House did not begin until 1840 when Robert Rundle arrived en route to Fort Edmonton.  He stayed at Norway House until his superior, James Evans, was settled at the post. Rossville, named after Chief Factor Donald Ross, soon grew up as a community around the fort and the mission consequently moved there in 1841 to serve the small nearby Aboriginal community. 

Norway House was of great importance to Methodist efforts in the Canadian West. The mission acted as a vital link for information and supplies between all Western missions and the central Methodist church, and from 1840 until 1863 it was the home of the Superintendent of Missions for the Saskatchewan District. 

After 1863 Norway House and the Rossville Mission, with the increased use of overland transportation routes, was no longer as necessary as a supply depot. In 1868 it was absorbed into the Red River District (renamed in 1887, the Winnipeg District). In 1998 the mission was commemorated with a plaque and service at the United Church in Rossville, where hymns sung in both Cree and English reflected the multicultural heritage of Norway House and the Rossville Mission.

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