Chalmers Presbyterian Church - yellow brick Winterbourne

• Name	Chalmers Presbyterian Church - yellow brick Winterbourne
  Born	constructed 1870	4 Katherine St. N., Winterbourne, Ontario, Canada
  Gender	Unknown
  Church	1870-2011	Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Winterbourne, Waterloo Region, Ontario
  	congregation closed December 2011
  Parcel Information	4 Katherine St. N., Winterbourne, Ontario, Canada
  	Address 4 KATHERINE ST N, WINTERBOURNE Property Code Category SPECIAL PURPOSE Survey Description TRACT CROOKS C BROKEN FRONT EAST OF GR PT LOT 3 Acres 0.8 Roll Number 302902000106700 Teranet PIN 222160178
  Died	standing 2011
  Person ID	I1292	Properties
  Last Modified	3 Jun 2012

  
  

• Photos		Chalmers Presbyterian Church Darryl Bonk 2012
  		Chalmers Presbyterian Church Darryl Bonk 2012

  
  

• Notes

  The bell tolls for Chalmers Presbyterian After 141 years, Chalmers Presbyterian church in Winterbourne will be closing its doors for the final time with a special service tomorrow (Sunday) night. "The service of closing a church is rather like a funeral," said Rev. Mary Whitson, who has spent the past three years at Chalmers and during that time has presided over one wedding and three baptisms. "It's a sad thing for those who are left, and at the same time it is a celebration of those who have gone before and have maintained it this long." Built in 1870, church members have finally arrived at one undeniable fact: people no longer seem interested in attending church anymore....The church has also not been designated as a heritage structure by the province, though Clemens said that the government tried to a few years ago and that the congregation fought it at the time in order to retain control over the structure. He said that they would likely welcome that designation now if it meant saving the church. "That would be nice, rather than having it torn down," he said. The remaining clergy will likely splinter and move to other churches, which will be difficult for Whitson to watch given her time there. "They are a wonderful group of people. Small, but very, very faithful, and I have certainly enjoyed the time that I have had to serve with them. It breaks my heart to see it go and for those 11 people to carry on will be difficult."...The final service at Chalmers Presbyterian Church will be tomorrow (Sunday) evening at 7 p.m. at the intersection of Kathleen Street and Peel Street in Winterbourne.1a 1aObserverXtra 5 Dec 2011 by James Jackson _______________________ Chalmers Presbyterian Church The congregation's history is mingled with that of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Winterbourne. Early services, begun c.1837, were for all Presbyterians. However, there was a split in the Presbyterian Church in 1844 which resulted in congregations belonging to the Presbyterian Church of Canada in Connection with the Church of Scotland and others belonging to the Free (Presbyterian) Church of Canada. The local congregation also split with the result that a new congregation of Free Church members was formed, to be called eventually Chalmers Presbyterian Church. These members were barred immediately from use of their former place of worship. The Free Church congregation therefore held services in the stone schoolhouse; as of 1847 a regular summer supply of student preachers was sent to the area by Knox College. In 1848 the congregation built their own frame church which was located behind the present Chalmers church. The first entry in Chalmers Session Book was dated December 31, 1857. Rev. George Cuthbertson had been ordained and inducted into Chalmers on October 7, 1857 and was to remain until March 5, 1862. He was followed by Revs. W.S. Ball (1863-1864), Edward Graham (1864-1869), and Hugh Thompson. In 1861 the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Presbyterian Church joined to form the Canada Presbyterian Church. On January 23, 1865 the church was referred to as Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Winterbourne, for the first time. The present church building was erected in 1870. The Union of all Presbyterian churches in Canada occurred in 1875. On May 1, 1876 St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church joined with Chalmers. The Rev. Alexander M. Hamilton began a ministry to the combined congregations on May 22, 1877, a ministry which was to last for 40 years. The 100th Anniversary of the church building was celebrated on November 22, 1970. Records: Baptism dates: 1856-1899 Location of records: see below* Marriage dates: 1858,1896-1939 Location of records: see below* Burial dates: 1896-1917 Location of records: see below* *Locations of early church records: 1. In 1992, church records were with D. Pirie, 13 Herbert St., Elmira N3B 2C1. 2. Records located at the United Church Archives: 1) Baptisms 1856-1899, Marriages 1858, Session Minutes 1857-1899 (also on Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints microfilm 0204159); and 2) Session records 1897-1916, Marriages 1898-1909, and Burials 1896-1917 - from the personal papers of Rev. Alexander M. Hamilton. 3. At the Presbyterian Church Archives - Marriages from 1896-1939. 4. At the Kitchener Public Library: Waterloo County Marriages 1858-1869, for marriage records from 1858-1862, 1866-1868 - indexed. 5. Transcribed and indexed by Frances Hoffman, 1987, published by the Waterloo-Wellington Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society: Births, October 3, 1838-September 13, 1880 (includes Births 1838-1855 and Marriages 1858-c.1868 for St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Winterbourne); Baptisms 1846-December 1, 1885; and Marriages March 18, 1858-July 5, 1877. Copies at the Kitchener Public Library and the Elmira Public Library. 6. Records at the Wellington County Archives include photocopies of Baptisms 1857-1869, 1871-1901 and Marriages 1858-1972. References: Presbyterian Church; R. Taylor 1986; WHS 1919(7):75-81; Winterbourne W.I. Church History: Refer to the church history for Gale Presbyterian, Church, Elmira.2a 2aAmbrose, Rosemary. Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide to Churches Established Before 1900. Kitchener, Ontario, Canada: Waterloo-Wellington Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1993. [used the kind permission of Rosemary Ambrose 2011] _____________________ Simple, rectangular interior is almost unchanged with high ceilings.  Gothic-arched windows and the original front door still in use.

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - constructed 1870 - 4 Katherine St. N., Winterbourne, Ontario, Canada Church - congregation closed December 2011 - 1870-2011 - Chalmers Presbyterian Church, Winterbourne, Waterloo Region, Ontario Parcel Information - - 4 Katherine St. N., Winterbourne, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth