Knox Presbyterian Church (Oakville)
Encyclopedia
Knox Presbyterian Church, Oakville is a Presbyterian Church in Canada
congregation, and located at 89 Dunn Street at Lakeshore Road (Highway 2
) in downtown Oakville, Ontario
Canada
.
In 1837, Americans departed with 1837 Rebellion; Church of Scotland
took over until 1844.
In 1844, went to Free Church of Scotland
.
James Nisbet
became first setted minister since 1842; he remained until 1862, when he was appointed a missionary
, first to Red River Colony
, and later to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
.
Linked from 1844 to 1883 with Knox Church "Sixteen", whose building was upstream at Dundas Street.
Voted to remain Presbyterian in 1925.
.
The current red-brick Gothic style building was dedicated May 20, 1888. It replaced the old frame church, called Oakville Presbyterian Church. The new church had taken a year to build and cost $16,000, a huge amount in those days. To build it, 60 members of the congregation signed a promissory note and the church purchased the White Oak Hotel at the corner of Dunn Street and Colborne Street, later to become Lakeshore Road. The hotel had once been a wild drinking place called O'Reilly's Tavern. A later owner took to keeping a live bear chained up to amuse customers. But Oakville residents voted the town dry in 1881 and by 1887 the owner was willing to sell it to the Presbyterians for $1,600. The old hotel was cut into three sections and moved off the site - one section is still downtown today at 152 Lakeshore Road. A church bell was installed several years later - the exact date is in dispute - cast in New York State. By 1894, a "pedal organ" had been approved, to the consternation of the more conservative members of the church who regarded it as "the devil's instrument."
By 1919, the church was ready to expand again, and the sanctuary was renovated to assume the form that exists today. The old organ was replaced with a new $6,625 three-manual Casavant Organ, the chancel was extended through the arch and the stained glass window of the Last Supper was installed in memory of the men in the congregation who died in the Great War, including the son of the minister. The window was donated by Cecil Marlatt, owner of a great family tannery, who died 8 years later bankrupt. These renovations, which cost $20,300, also saw the addition of what is now R.G. MacMillan Hall. The 1925 Union crisis and the creation of the United Church of Canada, along with the Great Depression, brought about a period of hard times for the church and it wasn't until 1949 that the congregation could hold a mortgage-burning ceremony.
In 1955 the boom following the arrival of the Ford Motor company was being felt and the church expanded again. Completed in 1956, the new section along Dunn Street now includes the parlour the library, counting room, office, and the nursery. In 1965, a hall was built under the Church at a cost of $80,000, to provide additional space for the church school. It was named for C.K. McNicoll, the minister who guided Knox from its centennial in 1933 to 1961.
Presbyterian Church in Canada
The Presbyterian Church in Canada is the name of a Protestant Christian church, of presbyterian and reformed theology and polity, serving in Canada under this name since 1875, although the United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939...
congregation, and located at 89 Dunn Street at Lakeshore Road (Highway 2
Highway 2 (Ontario)
King's Highway 2, usually referred to simply as Highway 2 is a provincially maintained highway in Ontario. Once the primary east–west route across the southern end of the province, Highway 2 became mostly redundant in the 1960s following the completion of Highway 401, which more or less...
) in downtown Oakville, Ontario
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Overview
Started in 1833 by Americans and Scottish Presbyterians.In 1837, Americans departed with 1837 Rebellion; Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
took over until 1844.
In 1844, went to Free Church of Scotland
Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)
The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...
.
James Nisbet
James Nisbet
James Nisbet was a Scottish born missionary to Canada.-Early life:He was born near Glasgow in Scotland, the youngest of 10 children. In 1840, he had travelled with his older brother, Henry, to London both seeking to serve as missionaries with the London Mission Society. Henry was accepted, and...
became first setted minister since 1842; he remained until 1862, when he was appointed a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
, first to Red River Colony
Red River Colony
The Red River Colony was a colonization project set up by Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk in 1811 on of land granted to him by the Hudson's Bay Company under what is referred to as the Selkirk Concession. The colony along the Red River of the North was never very successful...
, and later to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...
.
Linked from 1844 to 1883 with Knox Church "Sixteen", whose building was upstream at Dundas Street.
Voted to remain Presbyterian in 1925.
Name
Originally named Oakville Presbyterian Church, or The Presbyterian Church, Oakville. In 1888 the building was re-named Knox after John KnoxJohn Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
.
History
Knox Presbyterian Church Oakville began with a simple service in 1833 attended by 11 worshippers in a wooden frame building on the east bank of the 16 Mile Creek. The settlement, on land surrendered by the Mississauga Indians, was in the midst of the last great virgin forest remaining between York and Hamilton Bay. Early services in the pioneer shipbuilding port, with its nearby stands of highly prized white oak trees, were held in such places as a cabinet maker's shop. This led in 1850 to the building of a white frame church on William Street.The current red-brick Gothic style building was dedicated May 20, 1888. It replaced the old frame church, called Oakville Presbyterian Church. The new church had taken a year to build and cost $16,000, a huge amount in those days. To build it, 60 members of the congregation signed a promissory note and the church purchased the White Oak Hotel at the corner of Dunn Street and Colborne Street, later to become Lakeshore Road. The hotel had once been a wild drinking place called O'Reilly's Tavern. A later owner took to keeping a live bear chained up to amuse customers. But Oakville residents voted the town dry in 1881 and by 1887 the owner was willing to sell it to the Presbyterians for $1,600. The old hotel was cut into three sections and moved off the site - one section is still downtown today at 152 Lakeshore Road. A church bell was installed several years later - the exact date is in dispute - cast in New York State. By 1894, a "pedal organ" had been approved, to the consternation of the more conservative members of the church who regarded it as "the devil's instrument."
By 1919, the church was ready to expand again, and the sanctuary was renovated to assume the form that exists today. The old organ was replaced with a new $6,625 three-manual Casavant Organ, the chancel was extended through the arch and the stained glass window of the Last Supper was installed in memory of the men in the congregation who died in the Great War, including the son of the minister. The window was donated by Cecil Marlatt, owner of a great family tannery, who died 8 years later bankrupt. These renovations, which cost $20,300, also saw the addition of what is now R.G. MacMillan Hall. The 1925 Union crisis and the creation of the United Church of Canada, along with the Great Depression, brought about a period of hard times for the church and it wasn't until 1949 that the congregation could hold a mortgage-burning ceremony.
In 1955 the boom following the arrival of the Ford Motor company was being felt and the church expanded again. Completed in 1956, the new section along Dunn Street now includes the parlour the library, counting room, office, and the nursery. In 1965, a hall was built under the Church at a cost of $80,000, to provide additional space for the church school. It was named for C.K. McNicoll, the minister who guided Knox from its centennial in 1933 to 1961.
Ministers
- Samuel Sessions (American)
- Robert Murray (Church of Scotland)
- James NisbetJames NisbetJames Nisbet was a Scottish born missionary to Canada.-Early life:He was born near Glasgow in Scotland, the youngest of 10 children. In 1840, he had travelled with his older brother, Henry, to London both seeking to serve as missionaries with the London Mission Society. Henry was accepted, and...
(Free Church--Canada Presbyterian Church) - Robert Scott (CPC)
- William Meikle (CPC, Presbyterian Church in Canada)
- S.S. Craig
- John McNair
- James E. Munro (Minister left to join United Church of CanadaUnited Church of CanadaThe United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
) - William Wallis
- Weddereburn
- C.K. Nichol
- Robert G. MacMillan
- Helen Goggin (Deaconess, Assistant Minister, became Professor at Ewart CollegeEwart CollegeEwart College was a historical women's college located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in Canada. In September 1991, it merged with Knox College, University of Toronto....
) - Cam Taylor
- Harry McWilliams
- Michael Marsden