1979
photo-– Scott Reid– 175th Anniversary of St. Paul’s
Reverend Michael Harris travelled afar setting up local parishes as early as 1819 in Lanark County, and St. Paul’s Anglican Church was one of them. Set in the midst of the original cemetery overlooking the Perth Highway, the church partially built in 1852 celebrated its 175th anniversary this year.
The mission of Lanark dates from 1819 when the Rev. Michael Harris began ministering to the people in the community. St. Paul’s was built in 1842 on land donated by Mr. James H. Manahan. A new parsonage was built by 1899 and renovated in 1906 at which time the church was enlarged. It missed being damaged by the Lanark Village fire in 1959 but was considerably damaged by fire in 1945 and while repairs were being made, services were held in the Congregational Church. The parsonage was sold around 1990.
It hasn’t changed much except for the small hall to the right that was built in 1964, but the belfry, porch, tower, sanctuary and vestry were added on in 1906. It thankfully escaped the Lanark fire of 1959 but it suffered fire damage to the roof and interior in 1945.
Their first organ was an old pump organ and then the United Church gave thenm mone that was powered by a hand pump. In 1953 someone willed the church their home and the contents and after the house was sold it bought Sr. Paul’s a new pulpit.
The cemetery in the churchyard was closed in 1917 and a new burial ground was obtained. St. Paul’s Church celebrated its centenary on June 28, 1942. The dead were buried strictly in the churchyards in those days, but back in 1917 local health officials requested that the original old cemetery built on the hill next to the church be closed and moved two miles out of town. People worried about risks to public health and they came not only from the dank odours of the churchyards, but from the very water the people drank. In many cases, the springs for the drinking supply tracked right through the graveyards of the original churchyards.
Did you know suicides, if they were buried in consecrated ground at all, were usually deposited in the north end, although their corpses were not allowed to pass through the cemetery gates to enter. They had to be passed over the top of the stone wall or fence. In the case of St. James in Carleton Place they were buried outside the fence.
They once tried to ban the use of coffins altogether for health reasons, insisting that ‘all people should be buried in sacks’ for sanitary purposes. The Victorians recognized the dangers of lead coffins, and made it mandatory that pine be used as an alternative as it ‘decays rapidly,’ thus allowing the corpse to return to the earth more naturally.
Clipped from The Ottawa Journal, 23 Jan 1945, Tue, Page 16
Other Churches
PAKENHAM PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 1897– $338.50 on the Cornerstone?
St. Andrew’s Pakenham celebrates 175th anniversary October 9– 2015– Click here–Millstone
For the Love of St. Andrew’s– 130th Anniversary
Who Really Built the Baptist Church in Carleton Place?
Old Churches of Lanark County
Who Really Built the Baptist Church in Carleton Place?
Notes About The First Baptist Church in Perth
Smith’s Falls and District Baptist Church
Memories of The Old Church Halls
Tales From the Methodist Church in Perth
Knox Church– McDonald’s Corners
The Littlest Church in Ferguson Falls
Old Churches of Lanark County
Before and After — Auld Kirk
Another Example of Local Random Acts of Kindness- Zion Memorial United Church
Hallelujah and a Haircut —Faces of St. James 1976
What did Rector Elliot from St. James Bring Back from Cacouna?
The Emotional Crowded Houses– St. James
A Sneeze of a Tune from St. Andrew’s Church in Carleton Place
The Old Church in Island Brook That Needs a Home
Let The Church Rise– A Little History of St. James Anglican Church
The Church that Died
St James and St Mary’s Christmas Bazaar 1998 -Who Do You Know?
Old Churches of Lanark County
When The Streets of Carleton Place Ran Thick With the Blood of Terror!
I have been writing about downtown Carleton Place Bridge Street for months and this is something I really want to do. Come join me in the Domino’s Parking lot- corner Lake Ave and Bridge, Carleton Place at 11 am Saturday September 16 (rain date September 17) for a free walkabout of Bridge Street. It’s history is way more than just stores. This walkabout is FREE BUT I will be carrying a pouch for donations to the Carleton Place Hospital as they have been so good to me. I don’t know if I will ever do another walking tour so come join me on something that has been on my bucket list since I began writing about Bridge Street. It’s always a good time–trust me.
Are You Ready to Visit the Open Doors?
lindaseccaspina 