HISTORY of EBENEZER UNITED CHURCH
APRIL 1858 – JUNE 1998
Congregation Established by 1843

Settlers arrived in Toronto Gore Township, Peel County in the early 1800’s and the first report of religious services for the community were those held in the schoolhouse built on the Hilltop cemetery grounds on the Gore Rd, south of Hwy. #7. In 1847 James and Ann Sleightholm deeded the present church site at the South-East corner of the Gore Road and Side-road 5 to the community for the small sum of 5 shillings. It appears the first building, made of mud brick, was erected before the deed was registered. This often happened in pioneer days. An 1843 Primitive Methodist Preachers Plan in the United Church Archives lists an Ebenezer Chapel on the Etobicoke Circuit. The plan did not usually refer to it as a chapel until a building was erected so it is speculated that meetings were being held in homes before that, maybe as early as the early 1830’s.

Ebenezer Primitive Methodist Church had a strong congregation. The Brampton Circuit was split in 1842 and the Etobicoke Circuit was formed. The minister resided near Ebenezer on the east corner of James Sleightholm’s farm at Mason’s Corners (Hwy 50 and Ebenezer Road). This gave added prestige to Ebenezer. The Etobicoke Circuit was a large and important one for the Primitive Methodist Church in Upper Canada. It extended from Shiloh (south of Bolton) to Sandy Hill (Burnhamthorpe) in Peel County and also included congregations in Etobicoke and Vaughan Townships. Historical records of baptisms, marriages and burials of the Primitive Methodist Congregations on the Brampton and Etobicoke Circuit can be found in the United Church/Victoria University Archives reading room
(Email: info@unitedchurch archives.ca website: <www.unitedchurcharchives.ca>).
Names of persons buried in Hillside and Ebenezer cemeteries are available.

In 1858 the present church was built with bricks made on the farm of James Sleightholm Sr. (north side of Ebenezer road, east of the Gore road). Inside there were two rows of pews and a centre aisle with the men sitting on the left side of the church and the women on the right. The pulpit was built quite high with steps leading up on either side. There were two long seats at each side of the pulpit. Precentors led in the singing of hymns, many of which had been taught to them by the ministers. The choir occupied a raised area at the back of the church.

Major renovations took place twenty-four years later. Two aisles now divided the seats into three rows. This arrangement remains today. The church was reopened on February 5, 1882 with three services on Sunday and a concert on Monday evening. An organ was purchased in 1888 and the choir was moved to the front of the church in 1894. Two box, wood stoves, at the front and back, and oil lamps provided heat and light for the worship services.

In 1858 the parsonage site was moved to Malton, a more central location. The circuit grew larger and a decision was made in 1872 to divide the Circuit and create a new one in Malton. Ebenezer remained with the Etobicoke Circuit, which now included Siloam (Woodhill), Shiloh, Zoar, Smithfield, Pine Ridge, Woodbridge, Claireville and Ebenezer with the parsonage in Claireville. The Methodist denomination united in 1884 and Ebenezer became part of the Grahamsville Circuit, which had four preaching places and a parsonage in Grahamsville (Steeles Ave and Airport Rd). In 1921 Ebenezer was transferred to a York County circuit with Thistletown, Sharon and Smithfield.

In 1925 the Methodists, Congregationalists and some Presbyterians joined to become the United Church of Canada. Sharon and Smithfield churches closed (Sharon in the early 50’s because a large tract of land was purchased for the new Woodbine Race Track) and Ebenezer and Thistletown were a two point charge until 1981. After that, Ebenezer was a one point charge, Ministered to by John Gillham, Egerton Armstrong, Harry Martin, Joanna MacQuarrie, Christina Watkins, Doug Astle and Norm Munroe.

The women of Ebenezer met in April 1926 and organized a Ladies Aid Society, which met monthly for worship, fellowship and to raise money for the local church and missionary work. Their efforts assisted substantially in funding the installation of electricity and the purchase of a new organ in 1927. They also provided the communion set in 1928. In 1930 the name was changed to the Women’s Association and in 1962 to the United Church Women but their efforts to improve life at home and for those less fortunate did not change. The Harvest Home Service in October and the UCW fowl suppers served in the church shed were memorable events for many years. The number of members declined during the 1970’s and the UCW was disbanded in 1982.

The church shed was a very important part of the community in horse and buggy days. An agreement between Church Elders and the Toronto Gore Council allowed Councilors to tie their horses in the shed and the Township Hall (southwest corner of Ebenezer Rd. & the Gore Rd.) to be used for church activities. By 1958 the shed no longer served a useful purpose and was relocated to a local farm.

Ebenezer has had a Sunday School in some form since the original church was built. In the 1800’s lessons were very formal with a carefully phrased constitution that outlined discipline and instruction in reading and spelling as well as the Word of God. Memorized Bible verses were emphasized. Ebenezer also had a librarian and a library of over 150 books that were widely circulated. A Sunday School Anniversary was held on the first Sunday in June with a tea party and concert held on the following Monday. This evolved into a Sunday gathering with a larger choir and a guest minister for the overflow crowd that attended. This Anniversary Service was held regularly until the 1970’s. In 1989 an office trailer was purchased to be used by the children as a Sunday School room. Many interesting but less formal lessons were enjoyed in it.

A Young People’s Association with the motto ‘Look Up-Lift Up’ was established in 1935. Bible studies and discussions were combined with fund raising, social events and a baseball league. Annual Rally’s and tournaments were held among Ebenezer, Woodbridge, Thistletown, Sharon, Elia and Downsview.

‘Bees’ for renovations and improvements have been a part of church life for generations, whether it was making bricks for the first chapel or putting steel on the roof in 1984. Major projects over the years include replacing the roof when it blew off in a storm in 1919, tidying and fencing the cemetery in 1930 and building a cairn for the pioneer headstones in 1970.

During the WWII years the wood stoves were replaced by oil space heaters. Radiant electric heaters replaced the oil stoves in 1975 when new paneling on the walls and fresh paint on the trim refreshed the building once again. This last major renovation was dedicated on November 1, 1975.

Any history of Ebenezer would not be complete without mention of two life long members who passed away in 1996. Evelyn (Wilson) Keyes was born in Claireville and grew up attending Ebenezer Church with her family. She was active in the church, participated in all its organizations, made wonderful butter tarts and was church organist for over 45 years. Melville Robinson lived in the Ebenezer community his entire life. He served as an Elder, Steward and Cemetery Trustee over the years while he farmed in Toronto Gore (across the road from the church) and served on township council and as reeve. His quiet attention to detail included lighting the wood stoves from a young age in turn with Howard Fletcher, George Fieldhouse and Ira Champline. Melville and Ira lit the oil stoves on a weekly basis from 1940 until 1975 and Melville continued to turn the electric heaters on well into the 1990’s.

The church remained strong until the mid 1950’s when the agricultural community began to change. Land prices escalated, farms were sold to speculators and long standing members moved away. The regular Sunday worship service has been the only activity carried out at the Church for the last number of years.

On Sunday June 7, 1998 a service was held to celebrate the accomplishments and officially mark the closing of Ebenezer United Church after a long and faithful ministry. Norman Munroe of Shomberg presided at the service and Sheri Nam was the organist. A choir from Toronto West Presbytery provided music and officials from Toronto West Presbytery declared the congregation to be disbanded.

A memorial service was held at Ebenezer Church on Sunday June 6, 1999 marking the first anniversary of the closing of the church. Norman Munroe conducted the service and Sheri Nam was the organist.

There were about sixty people in attendance. Twelve members of the Sleightholm family drove a considerable distance to be in attendance. Their ancestors donated the land for the churchyard and supported the church faithfully. They were concerned about the structural soundness of the building and offered assistance to upgrade it.

This was the last service held at the church. Because the church does not have running water or wash room facilities and the foundation was deteriorating it was assumed that the building was of no further value. In March of 2001, a request was made by the Trustees of the church that the United Church of Canada assumes responsibility for the church.

Then Samuel took a stone, set it up between Mizpath and Shen, and said, “The Lord has helped us all the way” and he named the place Ebenezer, which means ‘Stone of help’.

But the story doesn’t end there. Near the end of the year 2000 Peter Peachey came on the scene. Peter went to Ebenezer school in grade seven and eight and he and his family attended St. John’s Anglican Church at Castlemore. Peter moved out of the community in 1964 and had lived in Nova Scotia for two years. After his return he was driving up the Gore road and noticed that St. John’s Anglican Church had been taken down. He was concerned that the church and school at Ebenezer would suffer the same fate and decided to make an effort to see that it didn’t happen. Peter approached the trustees of the church and suggested a plan of action.

Peter was involved with the moving and restoration of the James Shaver Woodsworth home, now known as “Applewood”. Applewood has become a successful business with the facility being used for meeting space and weddings. It is felt that Ebenezer church would be more suitable for weddings as it can accommodate larger wedding parties and has a church ambiance. With the construction of new homes in the area, there will be a demand for the facilities in the future.

An “Open House” was held on June 28, 2001 to determine if there was sufficient interest in the project to proceed. Approximately 50 former Ebenezer United Church Members, past members of the community, members of Thistletown United Church and members of Historical Societies were in attendance. Rowena Cooper, past president of the Ontario Historical Society informed the group that the Ebenezer, Toronto Gore Historical Foundation could be incorporated under the Ontario Historical Society. One of the requirements for incorporation under the Ontario Historical Society is to hold a general meeting to request such incorporation. It was decided to sell family memberships for the Foundation for twenty dollars per family.

A general meeting was held Sunday September 30 2001 at 3.00 p.m. and a motion was passed that we request to be incorporated under the Ontario Historical Society. Our request was accepted at a meeting of the Society on November 24, 2001. We received our incorporation number from the Ontario Historical Society and applied for our charitable donations number and started the process of transferring the ownership of the church to the Ebenezer, Toronto Gore Historical Foundation. The United Church deeded the property to the Foundation for one dollar so plans for renovations could begin. A Charitable Donations number was registered January 24, 2002.

Because the church was built on a rubble stone foundation and has been subject to settling over the many years, it is now necessary to underpin the foundation. The plan is to include a full basement to accommodate modern heating and washroom facilities as well as usable space. The estimated cost for the underpinning and the basement is in excess of $252,000. Construction started May 17, 2004. Additional costs include and Archeological Assessment to determine if there were graves in the construction area, sewer and water hook ups, replace electrical wiring, drywall and painting, landscaping and sidewalks, storm windows, insulation and many more items to numerous to mention.

Because of problems obtaining permits and construction delays, as well as ever escalating costs, the project has taken much longer and has cost much more than originally anticipated.

Thousands of hours of volunteer work on the building, furnishings and cemetery by the directors of the Historical Foundation and others reduced expenses and made the interior and grounds beautiful. This is the only building remaining from the Thistletown Circuit and the Thistletown congregation has been very supportive with a donation of $20,000 from the sale of their church building and the stained glass windows from the Thistletown church, as well as hundreds of hours volunteer work. Artifacts were also donated by the Smithfield congregation.

A grant of $75,000 from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, $2,000 from the Jackman Foundation, $2,000 from the McLean Foundation and many individual donations financed the project.

Work was completed in the spring of 2007 and the building was part of "Doors Open Brampton" on June 9 & 10th.

Total construction expenses will exceed $450,000 and there is currently an outstanding debt of $270,000.

A sincere thank you to all who supported the project, with special thanks to Cecil and Dianne Ray, Ken Henry, Peter and Judy Hyde, Frances Johnston and Don Fieldhouse.

The official opening will be on Sunday June 1st, 2008 to coincide with the 150th anniversary.

If anyone is interested in becoming involved with the Foundation, a twenty-dollar membership will put your name on our mailing list and donations will be gratefully accepted.