St. George's Anglican Church (Trout Creek, Ont.) is part of the Anglican Parish of Callander, Powassan, Restoule, and Chisholm located in the Nipissing District of Ontario. In its early days, though, the church was part of the South River Mission.
Anglican services were held in Trout Creek as early as 1895 when Rev. Charles Piercy of All Saint's (Burk's Falls, Ont) visited the mission at South River, then took the train north to Trout Creek with Incumbent Rev. George Gander. Rev. Piercy held a service in that night and Holy Communion the next morning. The church building was only in its early stages of construction at this point in time.
Although not complete, St. George's officially opened for services on February 2, 1896. Before this, services were held in houses at "rare intervals." By early 1897 the members of the church were still working on its completion, but the congregation itself was steadily increasing in numbers thanks to the regularity of services held every Sunday. In 1911, though, Trout Creek was listed as a weak spot needing an infusion of Church life.
In 1917 it was noted that the church at Trout Creek suffered much due to the demands of war with all eligible men having enlisted. The attitude changed in 1919 when the church numbers increased and the interest continued. On October 10, 1922, the church held an unveiling ceremony for a memorial plaque in honour of members of the congregation who fought and died in World War One.
St. George's was closed and demolished in 1968. The memorial plaque was moved to St. Mary's in Powassan, Ontario.
Incumbents include: Rev. G. Gander (1895-1896), Rev. C. H. Buckland (1896-1898), Rev. A. J. Cobb (1898-1899), Rev. D. A. Johnston (1899-1903), Rev. H. King (1903-1905), Rev. E. M. Rowland (1905-1913), Rev. P. A. Paris (1913-1918), Rev. R. Haines (1918-1923), Rev. H. Peeling (1923-1928), Rev. J. H. Evans (1928-1929), Rev. L. Sinclair (1929-1930), Rev. L. A. Sampson (1930), Rev. C. B. Harris (1930-1933), Rev. A. P. Scott (1933-1934), Ven. W. A. J. Burt (1934-1938), Rev. A. E. Carding (1938-1944), Rev. R. C. Warder (1944-1947), Rev. G. A. Stone (1947-1948), Canon A. E. Minchin (1948-1954), Rev. P. G. Docksey (1954-1959), Rev. D. L. Woodward (1959-1968).
Sources:
- "South River Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 7, no. 8 (1895): 63. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_004_1895Aug.
- "Trout Creek", The Algoma Missionary News 8, no. 2 (1896): 11. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_004_1896Feb.
- "Powassan Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 9, no. 2 (1897): 16. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_005_1897Feb_0.
- "Diocesan Notes", The Algoma Missionary News 8, no. 5 (1911): 55. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_008_1911May.
- "Powassan Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 13, no. 3 (1917): 28. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_009_1917Mar.
- "The Archbishop Visits Powassan Mission", The Algoma Missionary News 15, no. 4 (1919): 43. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_011_1919Apr.
- "Trout Creek", The Algoma Missionary News 18 no. 8 (1922): 112. Algoma University Archives, 2009-081_001_012_1922NovDec.
- “St. Mary’s Anglican Church Parish History:1880-1980”, 1980, Diocesan Heritage Centre History files collection, Powassan's St. Mary's Anglican Church parish history, Algoma University Archives, 2013-078_007_017_0.