Colbert Chapel celebrates 100

Last weekend, the members of Colbert Chapel, past and present, converged from all over the country to the little church just off Highway 2 to mark the 100th year of their spiritual home.

As some of the church’s senior members reminisced about the history of the church, they could not help but marvel at the journey. In the summer of 1907, Ida Farrell and a group of women, most of them homesteaders from the Midwest and hungry for a place of worship, started a Sunday school in a Colbert butcher shop.

Colbert at that time was a day’s drive by buggy to Spokane but a great location for the workers of the sawmill in Buckeye, who would walk to town to patronize the hamlet’s five saloons. But the small space for Sunday school forced the growing attendance into the upper dance floor of one of the salons. Cleaning the dance floor well enough for Sunday services proved to be an arduous effort that at times involved scoop shovels.

The founders saw the need for a permanent home for the school. John Patterson, who homesteaded 360 acres in the area, donated land for the establishment of a school and a church. In 1909, construction began at the bottom of what is now the Bernhill Road. Most of the lumber and foundation stone were either harvested from the members’ homesteads or purchased at a discount from the local lumberyard.

It took several years to complete the original school house, which still stands today as a private residence. Afterward, a church was built. The first preacher, the Rev. Blackburn from Chattaroy, was asked to hold services in the new church. For several months he walked from Chattaroy to Colbert every Sunday to conduct the services.

Subsequent fills-ins would either walk or catch the train from Spokane for the Sunday services. It was not until 1915 that the church had its first resident preacher. And in its 100 years, nine pastors have served as the spiritual leader of its congregation. The current pastor, Bob Warren, has been the church leader for 25 years.

In 1957 because of the change of Colbert Road and the traffic pattern, the sanctuary was moved to its current site at 4922 Bernhill Road. And in 1973, a spacious new sanctuary was built, again with lumber from members’ home sites. In addition to the regular adult and youth services, the chapel also runs a thriving preschool and daycare that is open to the public.

Throughout the years, the congregation has remained steady. For its members, especially those who literally grew up with the church, the chapel has stood the test of time and remains a beacon and spiritual sanctuary. Several life-long members participated in the anniversary.

Willard Farrell, whose father, aunt and grandmother were founders of the church, and who with his wife has been a life-long member, reminisced what it was like playing in the church as a young boy. Nancy Fifer said her parents have attended the church for more than seven decades and still will not miss a service. And Mary Anderson still remembers how her brother sang in the quartet with the pastor’s son in 1945.