St. Matthew's Anglican Church (Dorion, Ont.) located within the current Anglican Parish of Nipigon Bay opened for worship on December 9, 1915. However, as early as 1910, the Rev. Leslie Todd had ministered to scattered congregations of the people in that area. From 1913-1915, the Rev. P. F. Bull ministered to the congregation at Farmers' Club Hall and the old schoolhouse at Dorion. The church was free of debt by Easter 1921 and Archbishop Thorneloe consecrated it on June 14, 1921. On May 23, 1923, the mission at Dorion was definitely established as a separate mission (having previously been an out-station of the mission at Nipigon). It served Dorion, Hurkett, Loon Lake and the surrounding area.
A drainage problem developed in the basement of St. Matthew's Church building in the 1950s. After much discussion the congregation decided to move the church building -- a large hole was dug right next to the church, it was filled with gravel, then a weeping title and a concrete slab were added. They hired a house mover from Port Arthur and during the week of September 11, 1960 the Dorion church was moved onto a solid foundation.
In 1966, the church celebrated its 50th Anniversary and three stained-glass windows and other memorials were dedicated by the rector of the parish, the Rev. K. R. Gibbs, who was assisted by the Rev. F. Moore of Red Rock, and Canon A. J. Thomson, Rector of St. John's Port Arthur (now part of Thunder Bay, Ont.). The modernistic altar windows were presented by the women of the parish and they were dedicated at the same time. St. Matthew's is now closed for worship and serves the community as a museum. The Anglicans from Dorion now worship at St. Mary's Anglican Church (Nipigon, Ont.).
Incumbents of St. Matthew's Anglican Church included Percy F. Bull (1912-1918), William Coombe Dunn (1918-1924), W. H. Crouch (1924), Stephen Turner (1924-1926), A. J. Bull (1927-1929), F. E. Jewell (1929), L. I. Greene (1930-1936), B. A. Wood (1936-1938), T. Cann (1938-1943), F. M Belt (1943).
Sources:
- The Algoma Anglican (January, 1966) Vol. 10, No. 1, p. 1, Algoma University Archives, [accessed July 24, 2013]
- "Dorion: St. Matthew's," 1943, Diocesan Heritage Centre History Files Collection, File: 2013-078/003(003), Algoma University Archives.
- St. Mary's Anglican Church, http://stmarysanglicanchurchnipigon.com/HistStMarys.htm [accessed 2013 July, 19]
- "Basement Leaked, Dorion Church Moved", The Algoma Anglican 4, no.9 (1960): 6. Algoma University Archives.
