Branchton United Church Closed Branchton

• Name	Branchton United Church Closed Branchton
  Nickname	2
  Born	constructed 1859
  Gender	Unknown
  Church	1859	Branchton United Church, Branchton, Ontario
  	construction
  Died	closed 1970 still standing 2011
  Person ID	I573	Properties
  Last Modified	6 Dec 2011

  
  

• Notes

  Branchton United Church Begun: 1859 Closed: 1970 On the Sheffield Circuit of the Wesleyan Methodists to begin with, the congregation was on the St. George Circuit when a decision was made to build a church in 1859. Built with financial assistance from the Branchton and area Presbyterians, the stone church was dedicated in December 1859; the minister at the dedication service was Rev. William Lund. Rev. Thomas Fawcett, from St. George, was the congregation's first minister. As a condition of their financial support, the Presbyterians held services in the church on alternate Sundays until c.1875 when they began to meet in the Branchton Hall. The church was associated with St. George at this time, in the Brantford District of the London Conference of the Methodist Church. The church remained Methodist until 1910. In July 1911, the Presbyterians bought the building for $350. Rev. C.D. Farquharson was minister to the newly-organized Presbyterian congregation. Improvements were made to the church building over the next few years: the church was redecorated, new seats were purchased, gas lighting was installed (in 1914), and a porch was built on the front of the church, in 1915. When some Presbyterian churches joined with the Congregationals and Methodists in 1925, this congregation became Branchton United Church. The congregation held its last service on December 27, 1970; a newspaper report at that time referred to the Church as being 111 years old. The church building was converted then into a private residence which when visited in the Spring of 1992 bore very little resemblance to the former church building. Records: Baptism dates: 1913-1968* Location of records: United Church Archives Marriage dates: 1898-1966* Location of records: United Church Archives Burial dates: 1912-1968* Location of records: United Church Archives *Baptism, Marriage and Burial dates include Methodist, Presbyterian and United Churches - reflecting the changes in the Branchton Church over the years. The Register of the Sheffield Circuit of the Methodist Church for 1886-1916 is at the United Church Archives. Also at the United Church Archives are Membership Lists 1916-1925 and the Communicants' Roll 1911-1968. Wesleyan Methodist Baptisms for Waterloo County c.1830-c.1874 are in an indexed card file at the Kitchener Public Library. [ADDRESS/LOCATION: Branchton, Ontario] References: Fowler, WHS 1952(40):45-46; Methodist Church; A. Taylor 1970:266; R. Taylor 1986; Turnbull n.d.; WHS 1970(56):70.1a 1aAmbrose, Rosemary. Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide to Churches Established Before 1900. Kitchener,  Ontario, Canada: Waterloo-Wellington Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1993.

  
  

• Event Map

  Church - construction - 1859 - Branchton United Church, Branchton, Ontario  = Link to Google Earth