Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario.

Gale Presbyterian Church Elmira

1868 - 2011  (~ 143 years)


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  • Name Gale Presbyterian Church Elmira 
    Born constructed 1868  Gale Presbyterian Church, Elmira, Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Unknown 
    Church 1868  2 Cross St., Elmira, Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location 
    construction 
    Died still standing 2011 
    Person ID I525  Properties
    Last Modified 14 Aug 2011 

  • Notes 
    • Gale Presbyterian Church - Cross Street

      Take a short detour down Cross St. to Gale Presbyterian Church.  Built in 1868, this church is named after Rev. Alexander Gale, a professor at Knox College, Toronto, who headed a program in the 1840s to give student ministers a chance to preach.  These students came to the church in Winterbourne, the closest Presbyterian church before this one was built.  The 1868 building was altered considerably in 1906, but care was taken to blend the additions and the old building into a pleasing whole.  The right-hand (north) portion of the building is the original structure.  The front fa?ade was very simple, with a tall gothic-arch central entrance and a small pointed-arch window above. A close look at the brick reveals where the doorway was bricked in and replaced by the round window.  Notice too the three buttresses and four gothic windows in the north wall of the original building.  In 1906, the left hand foyer, the short tower and the annex were added, while the impressive round window replaced the old doorway.  The tower with its flared eaves adds distinction to the new entrance, and its fish scale shingling is echoed in the decorative south gable end.  The gothic windows in the south side tie in with the original ones on the north side.  New memorial windows replaced the old windows in the 1940s when the church was repainted inside and out.  In 1951, a kitchen was built, and in 1970 the portable Sunday school room was added at the rear.1a

      1aElmira Three Walking Tours, compiled by Susan Bryant and Bertha Thompson for the Township of Woolwich LACAC (Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee), December, 1985 - submitted by Marion Roes  with permission of the authors 2011

      __________________________

      As early as 1856, student ministers from Knox College came to Elmira to preach under the guidance of The Rev. Alexander Gale.  The seed that became Gale Presbyterian Church was planted in 1864 by Robert Kenning who donated a 1/4 acre of land at 2 Cross Street.  In 1868, a builder Hiram Martin, and an architect Mr. Gingerich, were selected to build a church at a cost of $450.00.  In 1986 the portable Sunday school classroom was sold and replaced with a $250,000. addition.  The new addition was dedicated in 1987 as the Boyne Christian Education Centre.  The lower half was dedicated as the McCleary Room and the largest classroom on the upper level as the McLean Room.  In 1988 the sanctuary was turned around to accommodate the new narthex and in 1996 a pipe organ was dedicated.  In 2004 the congregation approved a process to begin relocation.2a

      2awww.galepresbyterian.com 2011

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - constructed 1868 - Gale Presbyterian Church, Elmira, Ontario Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsChurch - construction - 1868 - 2 Cross St., Elmira, Ontario Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth