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‘St. Agnes, Greenbank 1868 Methodist Greenbank - 1907 Methodist Church, Seagrave 1904 Many area churches are now celebrating more than a century of service to their communities It seems that Church Anniversaries have been all the rage this year. Just by coincidence, Seagrave United Church celebrated its 100th, Prince Albert United Church has celebrated its 140th anniversary and Greenbank United Church celebrated its 110th anniversary this past September. The Presbyterians are also celebrating the fact that their first congregation was created in this community 150 years ago. The first religious services were held in the homes of pio- neers. An itinerant preacher would visit the various settlements in the Township and hold services in the homes of settlers. The first known visiting preachers in Reach Township were the Methodists. There are records of them visiting Dayton’s Cor- ners as early as the mid-1820s. In 1840 Dayton’s Corners changed its name to Prince Albert in honour of Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert. Construction of the first church built here was by the Method- ists in 1851. The site of this church is not known although it was most probably on the site of the present church grounds. The church was dedicated on February 8, 1852. In 1859, the Methodists celebrated their 30th anniversary of Sabbath School, or Sunday School as it was later called. This would indicate that the Sunday School began in 1829. That’s 177 years ago and that has to be the oldest institution here in Scugog. By the early 1840s Dayton’s Corners (Prince Albert) was part of the Whitby circuit for the Methodists. The Methodists had over 200 regular members in attendance by 1860 and they decided to build a much larger church. The con- gregation bought land in 1865 and work began on the new church. this time Prince Albert was the second largest grain han- dling centre in Canada with hotels at each of the four corners, all kinds of stores and a twice daily stage coach to Oshawa. The Methodists held a variety of fundraising events and the new brick church was built at a cost of $3,627. It was opened on Sunday, September 30, 1866. [ethodists were an extremely active group, building their first church in Seagrave in 1875. This was on River Street across the road from the present United Church. The congregation grew and created ademand for a much larger church. In 1907 they built the present church. Greenbank was a deeply religious community Baptist and Presbyterian. The Anglican Church of St. Agnes was built in 1868. Its congregation was unable to support the church, so it was closed in 1920 and its bell tower moved to Port Perry Anglican Church to symbolize the movement of its congregation to that church. The former church building is now the community hall, lo- cated just south of the present United Church on Highway 12 in Greenbank. The Methodists in Greenbank remained strong and numerous, opening their imposing red brick church in 1896. In 1883 a number of denominations including the Wesleyan Meth- odists, Methodist Episcopal, Primitive Methodists, Bible Chris- tian Methodists and the Canada West New Connexion Church, joined together to form the Methodists Church of Canada. In 1925 the Methodist Church became part of the United Church of Canada. The Presbyterians had an early start in old Reach Township. The first congregation was established in Prince Albert in 1855 and officially recognized the following year. The Presbyterians built a church there in 1859. The Anglicans used the Presbyterian Church as their place of worship until they began to build their own church in Port Perry in 1866. The first service in the Anglican Church of the Ascension in Port Perry was held on Feb 16, 1869. The migration of Prince Albert merchants to Port Perry with the coming of the railway, was joined by the Presbyterians. They closed their early church and built a new one, the present church, in Port Perry in 1870. It is pleasant to notice that so many of our early churches are still thriving here in Scugog. These buildings add dignity and grace to our landscape. It is hoped that they will continue to do so for years to come, reminding us of the toil, dedication and faith of our pioneering predecessors. By Paul Arculus once boasting four churches - Anglican, Methodist, 20 FOCUS - DECEMBER 2006 Centre sketch is the Prince Albert Presbyterian Church 1861 focus@observerpub.ca