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» St. Augustine of Canterbury's Anglican Church (Whitefish Falls, Ont.) sous fonds

St. Augustine of Canterbury's Anglican Church (Whitefish Falls, Ont.) sous fonds

Submitted by admin on Sat, 01/08/2011 - 16:36
Description
Start Date: 
1929
End Date: 
1984
Date Range: 
1929-1984
Physical Description: 

0.26 m of textual records

Arrangement: 
Sous fonds is arranged in files.
History Biographical: 

St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Church (Whitefish Falls, Ont.) was part of the Rainbow Country Anglican Parish (Espanola, Ont.).

The Whitefish Falls area was pioneered by the North West Company around 1790 and later joined with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821. The companies finished the railway and withdrew from the area in 1890. The Whitefish Falls mission had established a small school around 1830, but with the company's withdrawal, the settler community was depleted and the mission's activity dwindled. The efforts were restarted between 1916 and 1917 when the mission's school as re-activated by Rev. S.H. Ferris, of Garden River, with Mr. Duncan Bell as teacher. The school was somewhat irregular of its time because it taught both settler and indigenous children. The community at Birch Island were also educated at this mission school. By 1925, the schoolhouse was in need of a new foundation. A new school was built and opened on November 1, 1937. The A.Y.P.A. (Anglican Young People's Association) initiated plans to reuse the old school building as a hall for plays, meetings, and other sorts of business, making Whitefish Falls a sort of headquarters. They held a Hallowe'en dance on October 30, 1941 with success. The school seemed to do well until it was closed in 1969; the children then went to Espanola for education.

In its early years, the mission did not have its own incumbent and it was administered to by Rev. E. Montizambert of Little Current. Services were held in the schoolhouse until plans began for a church building in 1929 and 1930. The cornerstone was laid in July 1930 by Archdeacon Burt. The first service in the church was held on February 15, 1931. St. Augustine of Canterbury was consecrated and dedicated on October 9, 1931 by Bishop Rocksborough Smith. The mission's vicarage was completed in January 1932. Prior to this, the back of the schoolhouse served as the rector's living quarters. A few years later, on December 7, 1934, the church caught fire. The community was able to extinguish the fire before much damage was done, and the church was repaired and ready for service again by Christmas.

The Anglican activity in Whitefish Falls continued and was varied. In 1942, the Summer Youth Conference Committee decided to hold the first summer camp at Whitefish Falls, from June 5th to 12th. This committee was strongly influenced by Rev. C. M. Serson of the S.S.J.E. (Society of St. John the Evangelist) and was open to the whole Alogoma Diocese. These summer camps continued regularly at Whitefish Falls until 1961, when the camp was transferred to Manitou.

In 1952, the St. Augustine mission was gifted oak seats for the church from the W.A. (Women's Auxiliary), and the International Nickel donated a chlorination system for the schoolhouse and vicarage. The A.Y.P.A. also worked on a proper ceiling for the schoolhouse's kitchen during this year, and a half acre of land was leased at the back of the property for a playground. 

St. Augustine of Canterbury joined the Rainbow Country Anglican Parish sometime between 1960 and 1971, but by 1978 the rector, Rev. Canon Lorne Sutherland, indicated that St. Augustine's building was deteriorating and in need of repairs. The church was closed and demolished shortly after.

Sources:

Scope Content: 

Sous fonds is comprised of records documenting the activities at St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Church (Whitefish Falls, Ont.). Includes parish registers, Women's Auxiliary records, financial records, and youth group records.

Repository: 
aua
Admin
Custodial History: 

Accruals 2009-107 and 2009-134 transferred from Laurentian University Archives to Algoma University in May 2009 by Ken Hernden and Robin Isard.

Access Restriction: 

May be restrictions on access based on the terms of the Deposit Agreement, the Diocese's Policy on Privacy and Archives. Subject to all applicable privacy legislation.

Repro Restriction: 

May be restrictions on use based on the terms of the Deposit Agreement, the Diocese's Policy on Privacy and Archives. Subject to all applicable privacy legislation.

Conservation: 

Minor conservation performed on sous fonds.

GMD: 
textual record
Geographic Access: 
Whitefish Falls (Ont.)
Description Level: 
Sous Fonds
Name Access: 
St. Augustine of Canterbury Anglican Church (Whitefish Falls, Ont.)
Language: 
All material is in English.