Church was a new voice for South End
The community came together to build St. James Methodist Church
Peterborough was a city of small homes, small businesses, sporting teams, craft unions, and service clubs. Buildings of brick construction were everywhere and in 1908, another building boom was in progress. On a per capita basis, no city in Canada matched Peterborough’s manufacturing output.
The diverse manufacturing landscape opened opportunities for workers of all skills, and that in turn was a key to attracting new businesses.
Peterborough’s superb rail connections in every direction speeded the movement of products both in and out of town. Intercity travel was mainly by train, and was used by commercial travelers, shoppers, workers and tourist. Trains arrived every hour carrying mail and people.
Peterborough was an industrial city of 17,000. Its 15 major employers were: Ackerman, 70; Barries, 30-45; Brinton Carpets, 100; Canadian Canoe, 40; Canadian Cordage, 200 to 250; CGE,
1,200; Adam Hall, 30; Peter Hamilton, 125 to 140; William Hamilton, over 200; George Matthews, 120; Novel-Ti, 20 to 30; Peterborough Canoe, 50; Peterborough Lock, over 100; Peterborough Shovel and Tool, 45; Quaker Oats, 450; Rapid Tool, 45 to 50; J. J. Turner, 68.
Several of these industries were based south of the downtown. George Street had been extended south of Townsend to Lansdowne; King Edward Park and school were established; and the Roman Catholic parish of Sacred Heart had a new church with architectural significance.
The large congregations at Charlotte Street Methodist and at George Street Methodist decided there was a need for a Methodist church, soon known as St. James, in the booming south end and supplied some of the leadership needed to get organized.
The two congregations held a meeting at Charlotte Street on May 19, 1908. The pastor at George Street was the Rev. E.A. Pearson, father of the future prime minister, while the Rev. H.M. Manning was the pastor at Charlotte Street. Several members of each church were named trustee including A.E. Prest from Charlotte Street, and B. F. Ackerman, A.W. Cressman, and H.C. Stabler from George Street.
A.E. Prest was the Sunday school Superintendent; the Rev. H.M. Manning, from Charlotte Street, and on the recommendation of both the Peterborough District Meeting and the Bay of Quinte Conference in June was named the first pastor. Ackerman ran a major leather and harness business at Dalhousie and George that had offices in western Canada. A.W. Cressman ran the premier department store, and H.C. Stabler was a contractor in a city in which a tenth of the workers were in construction. Ackerman was the treasurer of the new trust.
In its first annual report, St. James Church had 87 members. Sixteen people attended the first service, a prayer meeting at the parsonage at 53 Crescent St. These first supporters pitched a tent and both the first Sabbath service and first Sunday school sessions were held on July 12.
The Quarterly Board included Thomas Brown, a major contractor in the south end, and Charles Kitney who had an extensive market garden south of Lansdowne.
Almost immediately, the trustees adopted a plan for a modern Sunday school building, suitable for Church Services, until a large church was required. Messrs. Fred Finnie and Rock Gordon, both living on nearby Perry Street, accepted the contract with a bid of $9,840.
George W. Morrow, a prominent local banker and financier, along with the Rev. Robert McCullough, president of the Bay of Quinte Conference laid the cornerstone for the Sunday school building on Oct. 10, 1908. The official opening of the church was five months later on March 28, 1909, with the Rev. J.P. Wilson preaching the sermons, morning and evening.
The total cost of the building, counting furnishings and land, was about $13,000, of which nearly $9,000 was covered by subscriptions. A great deal of support came from members of George Street and Charlotte Street churches. As well, the membership of the church had grown to 128 and of the Sunday school to 247.
The Rev. J.G. Brown was the pastor, 1909-1912, and was succeed by the Rev. J.N. Clarry in June 1912. In November 1911 the congregation held a meeting to raise subscriptions to clear the building debt, and raised nearly four thousand dollars, mostly from members and friends.
During Clarry’s second year, the congregation acquired 163 Romaine St. for a parsonage. To accommodate the growing Sunday school, now over 400, the trustees finished the basement of the Sunday school building to be used for the primary department. As well, Robert Benson, a member of the congregation, began attending Albert College in Belleville with a view “to fit himself for Christian ministry.”
The Rev. Benjamin Greatrix became pastor in 1915. In his first annual report he was grateful “for the love, loyalty and devotion of the membership to the cause of God as represented by our Church” and for the steady growth of the church “when our thoughts and concerns” were with those “fighting the Empire’s cause.”
At the same time, and somewhat surprisingly, Greatrix commented on the “erection of our new church”: “Through the generosity of the New Trinity and the liberality of kind friends, together with the ungrudging response of our people in tollmoney, the project so happily begun bids fair to move on to a successful conclusion.”
Trinity Methodist Church opened in 1914 and replaced the Charlotte Street Methodist Church. The land had been donated by Aaron Cox, the brother of Senator George A. Cox, and an uncle of George W. Morrow. There is a connection between Trinity Church which opened in 1914 and the efforts to build a new church to accompany the St. James Sunday school. Cox was a benefactor to many Methodist churches, and he was not alone. The Rev. Mr. Greatrix commented, “The kindly sympathy and co-operation of the sister Methodist Churches in Peterborough is worthy of mention and commendation.”
During 1916, St. James Methodist built their new church adjacent to the Sunday school and fronting on Romaine Street for about $18,000. The parson described the circumstances as “most propitious, helpful and gratifying.”
Generally, there was a labour shortage in Peterborough, primarily because of the local success recruiting soldiers for fighting overseas. However, wages were higher than pre-war and remained so through 1920 partly because of the many construction projects culminating in the rebuilding of Quaker Oats and of constructing the new high-level Hunter Street Bridge.
Wages were the major cost in building the new St. James. Except for the architects, the suppliers and workers were locally based, many from the south end. The bricklaying was done by Cuff Brothers; the bricks were supplied by Curtis Brothers. Thomas Brown supplied the gravel, while the cement came from Taylor and Son and the lime from Thomas Rehill and Robert Hicks. Alex McLeod did the slating of the roof; F. Mahood built the cement wall. The lumber came from Alfred McDonald, whose company was based along George Street from what is now Del Crary Park and the Market Plaza.
Alexander and Miller handled the wiring, while Melville Turner had the heating contract. J.H. Wolstenhome did the plastering.
Other significant suppliers included Peterborough Lumber, Walter Greene, and the Peter Hamilton Company.
Sherwood and King were the architects, and their bill was for $1,645.22, which was under 10 per cent of the total costs. Neither architect had other projects in Peterborough, and perhaps surprisingly this may be the only project that they did together.
The early career of Cecil Campbell King (1878-1940) was in England, notably with the talented C. Stanley Peach (1858-1934) from 1899 to 1904.
He emigrated to Canada in 1904 where he supervised the construction of the Armoury in Stratford, Ontario. King then moved to Toronto where he worked on the Imperial Life Building (1911) and on significant church projects including St. Mary Magdalene Anglican (19071908), Christ Church Deer Park (1922-1923) and Yorkminster Baptist Church (1927-1928). King was an employee or partner with several architects.
Edward G. Sherwood (fl. 19001922) emigrated to Winnipeg around 1900 and was an active architect for the next 20 years or so.
It is not clear how the two architects became connected, but my guess is that the link was through the national Methodist Church offices.
The Kingston-born Dr. S.D. Chown (1853-1939) was at the official opening of St. James Church in 1916. Within the next 10 years he led the Methodists into church union and the creation of the United Church of Canada. Under him the Methodists developed the Social Gospel which emphasized social service to one’s neighbors.
St. James Church was the only United Church south of Charlotte for the next generation, and its remarkable growth between 1909 and 1917 owed much to the wide acceptance of the church as a voice for the south end.
Thanks for assistance from the people at St. James United Church where I spoke in May.