St. Paul's Anglican Church (Seguin Falls, Ont.) is a church in the Almaguin Anglican Parish, which covers the eastern part of the Parry Sound District of Ontario.
The first St. Paul's Anglican Church was built between 1880 and 1884 as a simple frame structure. In 1890 a resident missionary, Rev. A.J. Cobb, was appointed and the settlers were overjoyed. By 1898, the church was served by lay readers. In 1900 villages began moving closer to railways if they were a few miles away, such was the case with Seguin. The church was "losing its neighbours," so the process of moving the church to Seguin Falls, where the people were, began.
In May of 1902, the Rev. J. Waring and the church-goers of Seguin were still looking for a new site for their church. By December 14th, 1902 a new church was built and opened to accommodate the shifted population due to the railway construction. The people of Seguin Falls, poor as they may have been, contributed greatly towards the construction of their new church. The new church, also called St. Paul's Anglican Church, was consecrated in 1906.
This mission, along with others in the back parts of Parry Sound, continued to persevere into 1907 despite much competition and little growth. The attitude of improvement of circumstances persisted and in 1908 the mission was still alive, though, by this point, some church families had moved on to go West. In 1909 Rev. J. Waring was replaced by Mr. Thos. O. Curliss. Also in 1909, there were thoughts of creating a joint mission between Aspdin, Maganatawan, Novar, Seguin Falls and Sprucedale missions as they were without promise of growth, but there was no action that came from these discussions.
By 1912 the mission was still holding on, but very few families remained with many having left the district. However, there was still justification for continuation of services. Services were still continuing in 1933 under Rev. R. K. Bamber, but it is unclear when the services ended. Sometime before the 1950s the church closed and many things from St. Paul's Anglican Church (such as hymn books and candlesticks) were donated to St. Thomas' Anglican Church in Orrville.
Early incumbents include: Rev. W. Crompton (1880-1884), Rev. A. J. Young (1884-1889), Rev. A. J. Cobb (1890-1898), Lay Readers (1898), Rev. J. Waring (1899-1906), Mr. T. O Curliss (1906-1911).
Sources:
- "History of the Mission to Magnetawan", 1969, St. George the Martyr Anglican Church (Magnetawan, Ont) sous fonds, Algoma University Archives, 2009-211_001_001.
- "Broadbent Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 1, no. 7 (1890): 56. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_003_1890Mar.
- "Report of the Missionary Bishop of Algoma", The Algoma Missionary News 10, no. 11 (1898): 83. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_005_1898Nov.
- "Seguin and Broadbent Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 12, no. 6 (1900): 45. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_005_1900June.
- "Notes by the Way", The Algoma Missionary News 14, no. 5 (1902): 33. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_006_1902May.
- "Seguin Falls Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 15, no. 1 (1903): 7. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_006_1903Jan.
- "Diocesan Notes", The Algoma Missionary News 3, no. 3 (1906): 30. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_007_1906Mar.
- "Magnetawan and Seguin Missions", The Algoma Missionary News 4, no. 5 (1907): 55. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_007_1907May.
- "Seguin Falls Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 5, no. 3 (1908): 29. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_007_1908Mar.
- "Report of the Executive Committee", 1909, Synod Journals, Algoma University Archives, 2009-078_001_012-1909.
- "Parry Sound Deanery Visitation", The Algoma Missionary News 9, no. 3 (1912): 29. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_008_1912Mar.
- "83-year-old St. Thomas' Church, Orrville, to be replaced?" Algoma Anglican 33, no. 6 (1986): 4. Algoma University Archives, 2013-086_001_014_1986JunJul.
