McDougall United Church represents one of the oldest religious institutions in Alberta. The earliest church on this site was a modest wood structure established by Reverend George McDougall in 1873. The church was part of a larger effort by McDougall to anchor the Methodist church in Alberta on a permanent rather than itinerant basis as the region transitioned from the fur trade to agricultural settlement. A second wood-frame church was erected in 1892 to accommodate growth in the congregation. During the pre-World War One settlement boom in Alberta, Edmonton’s population swelled and a much larger place of worship was needed. The current church opened in November 1910, and was at that time one of the largest Methodist churches in Western Canada. In 1925, the church became known as McDougall United Church after Methodists, Congregationalists and Presbyterians joined to form the United Church of Canada. McDougall United Church is thus associated with one of the earliest and longest-active Protestant congregations in Alberta, and has long been an essential part of the province’s religious and social history.