By Jim Hagarty
Years ago I was driving down a gravel road in my area of south-central Canada when I came by this little stone church. I have been fascinated with it ever since and drop by to pay a quiet visit at least once a summer.
Several aspects of the building interest me but here is the big one.
The church was built in 1863. That is no big deal. Lots of buildings that were built that year or even a century or two before that are still standing in North America. What I find intriguing about this particular building is that it was closed in 1872. It functioned as a church for only nine years. And despite the fact it has been closed for the past 153 years, it is still standing and relatively undisturbed.
The American Civil War was into its third year when this church was built. Abraham Lincoln was still alive. A lot of water under the bridge since then and yet, the church still stands. The fact that it is made of stone accounts for that. Had it been built with logs, it would be gone by now.
The church, known as St. Anthony’s, was a Roman Catholic mission church built by and for the Germans in the area near a little place called Tavistock. But as there was not a large enough German population in the area to sustain it, it closed. When it was in use, it was opened for a mass only once a month.
At some point during its post-church history, a school teacher and his chickens used to live inside the building.
Another reason I like the church is the reason it is still standing. By the 1920s, after it had been closed for almost 60 years, the church had fallen on hard times. It was deteriorating and in danger of returning to the earth. But the surrounding community of mostly Protestant church members, didn’t want to see it disappear. So a true community group of Catholics and Protestants formed a committee and once a year, a day-long bee would be held at the building. They resurrected it and looked after the church structurally as well as the church grounds.
Today, a hundred years later, the community still keeps the church going. And now it is opened once or twice a summer for a service and sometimes a wedding.
There are even recent burials on the church grounds. Because the church was open for such a short time, there are only a few original tombstones, most of them inscribed in the German language.
One thing I have never done is seen inside St. Anthony’s. I hope to do that someday.
If you are in the Stratford area of southern Ontario some day and would like to see the church, head south on the highway from the village of Shakespeare and turn left at the first sideroad. Drive about two miles. The church will be on your left.
