Manitoba Municipal Heritage Site No. 96

Presbyterian Church Manse
129 Park Street
Emerson

The Presbyterian Church Manse, a moulded concrete block structure, illustrates the use of an alternative building material popular in southern Manitoba from about 1890 to 1905. Expressive and durable, concrete blocks also were economical as they could be produced more quickly than kiln-dried brick and were more affordable than cut stone. The manse is one of several concrete block structures in Emerson. Built by David Wright, an Emerson pioneer and contractor who owned a concrete block manufacturing business, the solid dwelling is designed in the four-square style, a roomy building type popularized through pattern books and in vogue from about 1885 to 1940. Its situation on a broad grassed lot makes the house a neighbourhood landmark.