Written By Carol Small, Middlesex Centre Archives
Many of those churches that have remained open have a long history. Most went through transformations from log, to frame to brick, with additions added to accommodate halls and Sunday School classrooms. St. John’s the Divine Anglican Church in Arva was established in 1822. It was a frame building that was replaced in 1875 with the present brick structure and several additions since. Ilderton United Church was established as a Methodist community in 1847, with a brick church being built at Littlewood (12 Mile Road near Hyde Park Road, site of Littlewood Cemetery). A larger brick church on the site followed in 1875. That church was relocated to Ilderton in 1892 and it burned in 1910. In 1912, the present Ilderton United Church opened. On Thirteen Mile Road just west of the Denfield Road, in a picturesque setting, stands St. George’s Anglican Church. Opened in 1841, the first church was a frame building replaced in 1869 with a brick church. That first structure was repurposed as a sheep barn. In 1996, the old parish hall and kitchen were replaced with a larger addition.
Melville United Church, now located on the Nairn Road, south of the Ilderton Road, was first located on Lamont Drive and Nairn Road. The frame structure built in 1850 was dismantled and reassembled at the present site of the Church. In 1886, the new brick church opened. Several additions have been added since. The Society of Friends (Quaker) is located on Quaker Lane in Coldstream. The congregation out-grew the first wooden church built in 1849 and replaced it with the present-day brick structure in 1859. This church remains much as it was when first constructed with two entrance doors, and pews divided for men and women. Poplar Hill Baptist in Poplar Hill met for 41 years in a frame building constructed in 1843 on Charlton Drive and Fernhill Road. A new brick church was completed in 1885 on the present site. The First Lobo Baptist Church on Nairn Road near Oxbow Drive was a frame church built in 1843. In 1872, it was replaced by a brick church that had a baptistry added between 1902 and 1904 and a Sunday School in 1986. A new, larger church building was opened in 2015. Komoka United Church, originally Methodist, was built in 1880 with additions for Sunday School, kitchen and washroom.
One of the oldest churches, Kilworth United Church, originally Methodist, was built in 1850. Located on Commissioners Road, this stone structure features 2-foot rock walls built from hand-hewn stones from the Wishing Well spring. Some rocks bear imprints of an ancient beech tree with leaves, as well as sticks and frogs. A Sunday School as well as new entrance, kitchen and washrooms have been added.
New churches such as the Community Bible Church in Ilderton in 2005, Community Bible Church (Elginfield Road and Adelaide Street) in 1983, and Gateway Community Church which meets in the in Komoka Community Centre are now part of the communities. The Oikos Community Church meets in the Providence Reformed School in Komoka. The Mennonite Brethren Church on Glendon Drive, Komoka was built in 1980. Destroyed in the August 1990 tornado, the church was rebuilt. From about 2005, the congregation shared its property with the Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church until it was sold in 2007.
As the needs of society evolved, the church buildings that once dotted the roads of Middlesex Centre have disappeared or have been repurposed. Even if the buildings no longer function as places of worship, their original architecture is ever present and often featured in their designation as residences or places of business. Their beauty is ever present in those buildings, especially the ones that remain as places of worship. Take a drive in through the villages and down concession roads to discover these places of tranquil beauty. Rest a minute and think about what happened here over 100 years ago. Think about why these places were so integral to the early residents of Middlesex Centre.
This brief outline of the Middlesex Centre churches can’t begin to tell their stories. Not all churches could be included. To learn more about the churches of Middlesex Centre, visit the Middlesex Centre Archives where our collections hold the history of these important hubs.
