VALLEYFIELD HISTORY PRE-1971
History of Hillcrest & Its Predecessors Booklet Published 1997 |
The second frame church was built in 1855 and stood until 1927. It was a large church, seating 600 people. At the Service of Dedication Brown's Creek was renamed “Valleyfield”. The pews were numbered on the end, no doubt most paid for by families and sat in by those families only.
From early days there were both Gaelic and English services there, with Gaelic from 10-11am and English beginning at 11 and going until whenever they happened to be over. All ministers until 1936 and the departure of A.C. Fraser held services in Gaelic as well as English. In 1886, at a cost of $750, the congregation built the wooden “tent”. This building, seating 1,000 people, was to fill the need for the annual July Gaelic services. It was used for that purpose for 23 years. When the “tent” was demolished in 1964 the hand-hewn timbers were so well put together that the bulldozers had trouble pulling it apart. The annual July Gaelic service was what became known as the “Long Communion”. It began on Thursday and continued until Monday. This tradition only came to an end in 1970. People from the whole area would travel to Valleyfield for the occasion, staying with family and friends back in the horse and buggy days. No doubt its importance and continuance had as much to do with social needs as spiritual. In 1886 at the July communion, 170 persons were received into the fellowship of the church. That number signifies the importance of this event in the life of the congregation. In 1887 the number was 139, and 60 in 1888, still a respectable number. The Valleyfield congregation spawned new congregations, with Dundas creating its own in 1859, Cardigan joining Georgetown in 1877, and Caledonia forming its own in 1888. Pious Presbyterians did not raise any money by bazaars, tea parties, socials or any other questionable means - voluntary givings only. In 1888 a formal request was made for the formation of a choir; but some objected to women singing in the choir as it was against scripture. Music grew in importance and in 1911 a Karn Organ was purchased for $425, a lot of money at that time. It was in 1909 that the building which presently rests at Hillcrest was built, with the opening service on December 26th. Valleyfield Presbyterian Church, as it was then, was built at the cost of $4,875, was reported to seat 400 with another 100 in the schoolroom, which is presently called the Chapel. Crowding closely together was necessary to get that many people into the church. In that same year the “tent” was moved to the same site as the new church, to be used to stable horses. The move was carried out by horses and capstan. In 1927 the old church located on the cemetary property was demolished, the windows going to the Belle River Church. 1925 brought a change which was not based on the new buildings, but on denominational affiliation. The United Church of Canada was formed when the Congregationalist, Methodist and two thirds of the Presbyterians in Canada united on June 10th. Church Union was preceded by much debate. In Valleyfield the vote was 139 in favor, 74 against. Soon after union, changes continued in the grouping of churches together within Pastoral Charges. In 1928 Valleyfield and Orwell Head joined into a Pastoral Charge. Belle River was added later. Then in 1968 Valleyfield, Montague/Lower Montague and Sturgeon became one Pastoral Charge. The most important date following that was May 16, 1971, the last service in the Valleyfield United Church before being moved to the present location and being renamed Hillcrest United Church. At a meeting on March 23, 1971 the name for the new church was discussed and voted on. The name “Montague-Valleyfield” passed. The next recorded meeting, on October 3, 1971 was called to discuss the opening services of “Hillcrest United Church ...”. Sometime, somehow between March and October the name changed to “Hillcrest”. In 1974, three years after the church building was moved to Montague, a stone cairn was built in Valleyfield on the site of the original log meeting house. Inscribed on it are the church buildings and dates from 1842 to 1971. It also includes this quote from Psalm 119.90 A in Gaelic and English: o linn gu lino tha d'fhirinn “Your faithfulness endures through all the ages” |
Prior to Church Union in 1925, The Church in Valleyfield was part of the Presbyterian Church of Canada.
The Valleyfield road was first named Douses Road after the surveyor, and the first congregation was called Brown's Creek – taking in communities of Cardigan, Dundas, Georgetown, Orwell, Wood Islands, Caledonia, Union Road, Sparrow's Road, Victoria Cross, Lyndale, Upper Montague, Heatherdale, Kilmuir, Commercial Cross, Milltown, Grandview, Bellevue, Brooklyn, St. Mary's Road and Glen Martin. In 1840 Big William Martin built the first log cabin which hosted the first prayer meeting. Two years later the log “Meeting House” was built. In 1845 the first frame church was built on the site of the cairn in the Valleyfield Cemetary. It was enlarged later. The Rev. Alexander MacIntyre (1845-1849) was a very energetic preacher. He used his feet as well as hands, lungs and brains. Taking this into consideration, a good strong substantial pulpit was built, one that would not yield to the most zealous. In keeping with this foresight, a good strong substantial Bible was saught. He did not take kindly to disturbance or inattention. One gentleman caught staring at the ceiling was asked “How many rafters are there?” |